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YOUNG FOLKS 

[ILLUSTRATED 

BIBLE HISTORY 


VOLUME I 


OLD TESTAMENT 


















































































r 

































44 THE DELUGE ' ’ 
FROM AN OLD ENGRA V1NG 


/ 










J?oung Jfollis 
ptble l^istorp 


INTRODUCTION BY 

CHARLES L. GOODELL, D.D. 




I 


i t oS 










Author of 

“Followers of the Gleam,” etc. 


VOLUME I 




Young Folks Educational League 

Incorporated > 


PUBLISHERS 

BOSTON, MASS. 










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5f)5 51 

'irf 


Copyright, 1913 

by 

Funk & Wagnalls Company 


vus.i ♦ (^L / 

©CI.A34322U 



INTRODUCTION 


THE STORY OF THE BIBLE 


S COUNT it a privilege to be permitted to swing open the door 
of the world’s greatest treasure-house to our young people 
and to bid them welcome. Nowhere is there such a golden 
u mine and nowhere such priceless gems. 

A The publishers have adorned these Bible stories with the 

Tissot pictures, which make the most realistic, artistic, and modern 
^ illustration of the Bible ever attempted, while they are thoroughly 
r faithful to the times with which the stories deal. Through eye as 
well as ear the thrilling records of this Book will arrest and fascinate the 
reader. 

From the standpoint of its history and composition the Bible is the most 
wonderful book in all literature. Most books are written by one man in 
one language, and in a few months or years. This book was hundreds of 
years in its composition and written by scores of men, many of whom never 
saw or heard of each other. It was written in the rough Hebrew, so full of 
action that almost every word was a verb. It was written in polished 
Greek, as smooth and rhythmic as a dancer’s song. The men who wrote were 
from all grades of society. It was begun in the desert and finished beside the 
sea. Some of its pages saw the light in a herdsman’s hut and some in a 
king’s palace, while others floated out of the window of a prison in the 
cramped handwriting of the aged Paul. But all these writers claimed that 
they were bringing to us some part of the heavenly Father’s message to his 
children. 

If you love history, the pages of the Bible are of thrilling interest, for 
they contain the story of God’s purpose in the lives of men and nations. 
Here you may learn something not elsewhere written about the palmy days 
of Egypt and Assyria, of Arabia, of Phenicia, of Athens, and of Rome. You 
walk in the streets of Babylon and Thebes, of Athens and Ephesus, and 
look into the faces of those upon whose mummied lips the finger of silence 
has been pressed for three thousand years. You march in company with 
a nation of slaves who had chanted to one another on the banks of the Nile, 
in sad antiphonal: 


“ They beat us, they beat us, 
They starve us, they starve us, 
But there is some One above 
Who will punish them well, 
Who will punish them well.’’ 


You see a nation led by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. 
They pass mysteriously on their way and after many years of wandering 
enter a land where once their ancestors had worshiped Jehovah. They set 

V 




vi 


INTRODUCTION. 


up a kingdom which grows with wonderful strides. A shepherd boy be¬ 
comes a king, and a nation is subjugated by his sling. He passes his king¬ 
dom over to his son Solomon, the matchless temple-builder, who stands at 
the head of the wisdom and wealth of his time. All this is but a single page 
of the thrilling history where prophets and kings are co-workers with God. 

If you are a lover of nature, here are the most wonderful descriptions of 
nature which were ever written. The book of Job tells of the wonders of 
the sea, of the marvels of the forest and the glory of the stars. The Psalms 
tell of him who made the clouds his chariot and sends forth the snow as the 
wool. He calls upon the floods to clap their hands and the hills to sing 
together for joy. The prophets paint the glory of the purple harvest and 
tell of his power who holdeth the sea in the hollow of his hand, who weigh- 
eth the mountains in scales and leadeth forth the stars in order. 

If you are a lover of poetry the psalmists and prophets will lure and 
please you. In the “Shepherd’s Psalm” of David and in the prayer of 
Habakkuk there is poetry so sublime that no modern poets have ever been 
able to surpass it. 

If you enjoy a story, nowhere can one find such stories as are recorded 
here. They are the classics which every story-teller quotes. Who would 
wish to blot out from his recollection the stories of Joseph and Moses, of 
Samson and David, and those sweet stories which fell from the lips of Jesus 
of Nazareth? If it is a love-story that you seek, the New Testament is the 
love-story of God. Notice the characters of the opening chapters. Heaven 
is bending low to earth, a Hero comes to find his bride. Here are angels 
and shepherds and wise men, a divine babe and a loving mother for actors, 
with oxen and a manger as a background. The Hero finds his bride. She 
is covered with rags, her beauty is gone, her health and purity are gone, a 
tyrant has her in his power. The Hero comes unto his own and his own 
receives him not. The tyrant nails him to a cross and takes him into a 
sepulchre to have final victory. But the Hero comes out of the sepulchre 
with the tyrant’s keys at his girdle. His bride sees him and her old love 
comes back. She cries—“Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly.” 
He takes her in his arms, dries her tears, washes her, body and soul, sweeps 
with her beyond the stars and invites the world to the marriage-feast before 
the throne of God. Where in all literature will you find such a story? 

Measured by its circulation the Bible is the most popular book in the 
world. It has been printed in more languages and dialects than any other 
book. Successful books in our time may reach a circulation of a few hun¬ 
dred thousands, but if the next Bible that is issued should have upon its 
fly-leaf the number of its circulation it would be fifth hundred millionth. So 
the Bible is more popular than Homer or Virgil or Shakespeare or Dickens 
or Scott, or all of them combined. 

No young person can afford to be ignorant of this book, and if he is to 
maintain himself in other literature and understand the writings of other 
men, he must know this book as no other, for it is the basis of much of the 
world’s literature. Ruskin said: “All that I have said, or written, or done 
has been due to the fact that when I was a child my mother daily read with 
me a part of the Bible and daily made me learn a part of it by heart.” Among 
the last words of Benjamin Franklin were these: “Young man, my advice 
to you is that you cultivate an acquaintance with, and a belief in, the Holy 
Scriptures.” 


INTRODUCTION. 


Vll 


The greatest value of the Bible, however, is not to be found in its his¬ 
tory or biography, its philosophy or poetry, but rather in the fact that it 
finds and influences our lives as no other book can do. The psalmist said, 
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” We are 
often told the histories of great hymns, of those who wrote them, under 
what circumstances they were written, and the good they have accom¬ 
plished. How one’s heart would thrill if some one could write the his¬ 
tory of the twenty-third Psalm. If we could only know how many have 
been kept from disaster and death because they were able to say, ‘‘The 
Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want”; how many young people have been 
kept in the paths of virtue by the stirring words of the Proverbs and the 
sweet illumination of the Psalms. Jesus, himself, said: “The words that 
I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.” If we wish to know 
whence we came and whither we go, we must seek this Book to find the an¬ 
swers to our questions. Only he who left us here can tell us his purpose in 
so doing, and the will of God concerning our life and future is written here 
and here alone. Let us come then with eager delight to enter this wonderful 
treasury, and, while we revel in its marvellous history, its thrilling stories, its 
beautiful poetry, let us not forget that it is chiefly valuable because it con¬ 
tains his words who spake as never man spake and who alone can show us the 
way to make life a success. It would be a fine thing as we open its pages 
to]breathe an honest prayer, and this should be our petition: Open thou my 
eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” 

Charles L. Goodell. 

New York t December 17 , 1912. 








































































































































































































































































































































































































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* • 
























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PREFACE 



HE Scripture lessons contained in this volume were 
originally published for the use and instruction of 
young people. That they might be adapted to the 
capacity and comprehension of those whose oppor¬ 
tunities for acquiring a competent education were, by 
unavoidable circumstances, limited, a studied simplicity 
of style was adopted. This feature, however, which so uni¬ 
formly characterizes the composition of these lessons will, it 
is believed, impart to them an interest and a charm, that will 
not only make them clear and attractive to young readers, 
but commend the book to the favor of Bible readers of mature years and 
liberal culture. 

As an Introduction to the following collection of Scriptural Lessons, 
it is proposed to offer some reasons, showing the superior claims of the 
Bible to the earnest attention, study, and belief of all classes, whether 
learned or unlearned, young or old; inasmuch as all are equally concerned 
in the momentous truths and teachings it reveals. The community is 
inundated with reading matter, journals, magazines, romances, histories, 
philosophies, &c., and the tendency is to neglect the Holy Word of God, 
as though its mission were ended, and the mighty themes, of which it 
treats, were obsolete. Whatever is done, therefore, to render Bible read¬ 
ing more attractive, and to revive an interest in the sublime truths of 
Divine Revelation, will be regarded with favor by all who believe in these 
truths, the knowledge of which surpasses in real importance all other kinds 
of knowledge.* 

The Bible embraces a collection of books, written, as is claimed, by holy 
men, who were inspired of God. It includes both the Old and the New 
Testaments. The contents of this sacred Book come under a two-fold division, 


* For a more extended exhibition of the reasons it is proposed to assign for the Divine 
Authority of the Bible, the reader is referred to a valuable English work, —“The Mine 
Explored,”— re-published by the “American Sunday-School Unionwhich work has sug 
gested some of the salient points of the following argument. 




X 


PREFACE 


viz.: Doctrinal and Historical. The work before us is confined principally to 
the latter division. 

While the doctrinal portions of the Bible have received earnest thought and 
searching investigation on the part of theologians and scholars, the historical 
parts have been passed over with less attention than may be claimed for them 
on the ground of their important relation to the Church of God, to say noth* 
ing of their instructive and practical value. There is the same evidence that 
the Bible histories were selected and arranged under the guidance of the Holy 
Spirit, as there is that the doctrinal and prophetic writings were so given. 
“ AH scripture is given by inspiration of God.” 

From the testimony of Josephus it appears, that the public records of the 
Jews were kept by the priests and other persons who were appointed as 
depositaries of the same, and that the sacred writers occasionally refer to them, 
as containing testimony to the facts in their narratives, and a more minute 
detail of particulars, which they omit as unnecessary to their purpose. For 
example, see reference to “The Book of Jasher,” Josh. x. 13; 2 Sam. i. 18, and 
to “ The Book of the Wars of the Lord,” Numb. xxi. 14. 

“ The object of the historical books was to communicate instruction to the 
chosen people, and to mankind in general; and to illustrate the nature of God’s 
providence in small as well as in great occurrences, in particular instances as 
well as in general appointments; they therefore often descend from the great 
outline of national concerns to the minute detail of private life. The relations, 
however, of individual events, that are occasionally interspersed, are highly 
interesting, and admirably develop the designs of the Almighty, and the char¬ 
acter of those times to which they are respectively assigned. Those seeming 
digressions likewise, in which the sacred writers have recorded such remarkable 
events as related to particular personages, or such occurrences in foreign coun¬ 
tries as tended to affect the interests of the Hebrew nation, are not only 
valuable for the religious spirit which they breathe, but are to be admired as 
strictly consistent with the sacred plan.” (See Introduction to Starkhouse’s 
History.) 

Among the various reasons , showing the claims of the Sacred Scriptures to 
our earnest attention and belief, the first place must be assigned to the evi- 
PENCES of their Divine authority. It is not proposed to go into an elaborate 
argument for their Divine authority, but simply to notice some obvious facts , 
on which the evidence of the inspiration and authority of the revealed 
Scriptures rest. 

One fact, worthy of notice, is the wonderful preservation of the Sacred 
Writings amidst the changes and revolutions of ages. Portions of them were 
composed more than three thousand years ago. Only within recent years 
have so early writings become well known. The books of the Old Testa¬ 
ment were in the exclusive possession of the Jews, so long as their independent 
nationality continued. But as the art of printing was unknown, comparatively 
few copies were in existence at any one time, and these were mostly deposited 


PREFACE 


xl 

in the tabernacle, temple, or synagogue. The later wars and domestic revolu¬ 
tions, suffered by the Jewish nation, involved to a great extent the destruction 
of their homes, their cities, their sanctuaries, and hundreds of thousands of 
lives; but their Holy Books were preserved amidst the common ruin. When 
Antioclius Epiphanes captured Jerusalem, he attempted to destroy every copy 
and fragment of the Jewish Scriptures. A few copies, however, escaped the 
ravages of the “Desolater,” and were carried away by the captive Jews. 
During their long captivity in a heathen land, their forms of worship were 
interrupted and their national institutions destroyed; but the Providence of 
God watched over the Holy Scriptures and preserved them unharmed. 

Another fact, bearing on the evidence that these Sacred Writings are of su¬ 
perhuman origin, is their being preserved unaltered. Other writings have been 
mutilated and changed from their original form. Not so the Bible. The 
Jews cherished such profound reverence for their Sacred Books, that the 
utmost care and pains were taken by copyists to avoid the slightest mistake or 
alteration in the copies they made. The omission or addition of a single letter, 
if discovered, would vitiate the manuscript, and cause it to be condemned. 
Some three hundred years before Christ the Old Testament was, by order of 
Ptolemy Philadelphus, an Egyptian king, translated from the Hebrew into 
Greek, on which work seventy scholars were employed. This ancient version, 
quoted often by the apostles, on being compared with the original, and also 
with our version as now received, is found to agree with the same in all impor¬ 
tant particulars. There have been collected from many quarters several 
hundred manuscripts, some of them written as early as the fourth century, one 
of the very oldest having been discovered in the convent of Mount Sinai, all 
which, on being critically examined and compared, are found to agree with 
each other in all essential points, as it respects history and doctrine. Thus 
may the care of a protecting Providence be clearly recognized in the circum¬ 
stances which have prevented all such changes in the text of the Scriptures, as 
would obscure, or render doubtful the original reading. While cotemporary 
works, embodying the productions of human wisdom and learning, have long 
since been irrecoverably lost, or so changed as to make them worthless, the 
Bible has been wonderfully preserved from loss, mutilation, or alteration, 
through thousands of years down to the present time. As another has said, 
“ Cities fall, kingdoms come to nothing, empires fade away as the smoke. But 
that the Bible no tyrant should have been able to consume, no tradition to 
choke, no heretic maliciously to corrupt; that it should unto this day, amid 
the wreck of all that is human, without the alteration of one sentence, so as t« 
change the doctrine taught therein; surely here is a very singular Providence, 
claiming our attention in a most remarkable manner.” How true, that “ the 
Word of the Lord endureth forever.” 

The evidence for the Divine authority of the Holy Scriptures is confirmed by 
the fact of the harmony of their teachings and statements. It is known that 
they were written by many men, who lived in different provinces, and in differ* 


Xll 


PREFACE 


ent ages. These men belonged to different classes, and possessed different 
degrees of culture. Among them were kings, prophets, legislators, priests, 
shepherds, publicans, fishermen, &c. That men who lived in ages so remote 
from each other, i.e., in times between which centuries rolled, and under many 
forms of government, with various degrees of mental culture, should so harmo¬ 
nize with each other in their teachings and oracles, shows most conclusively, 
that they must have been guided by the unerring inspiration of the Holy 
Spirit. On no other ground can the fact be explained, that so many fallible 
men under such circumstances should have avoided all disagreements, and pre¬ 
served such unity in their voluminous writings. 

Another consideration bearing on this point is the peculiar nature of the sub¬ 
jects on which they wrote. These subjects related to the existence, character, 
and government of God; the creation of the world, the origin, nature, duty, 
fall, and destiny of man; the two dispensations of religion, the Mosaic and the 
Christian,—subjects unlike any recognized in human history or philosophy; 
and yet the sacred writers, living under different dispensations and civilizations, 
have evinced a unity of spirit and purpose,—a harmony in their teachings and 
revelations,—forming a system of heavenly truth which challenges the hom¬ 
age and faith of mankind. Such a fact as this can be satisfactorily explained 
on no other principle than the presence and agency of a supernatural inspira¬ 
tion. Greek and Roman philosophers in times of classic civilization and art 
abounded in contradictions, inconsistencies, and absurdities, in treating subjects 
of morality and religion. “ The world by wisdom knew not God.” On the 
other hand, the sacred writers, both in the Old and New Testaments, have 
shown that they were moved and guided by one Spirit, and in the consistency 
and drift of their teachings have commended themselves to the confidence and 
admiration of the wise and good of all ages. 

The Divine origin of the Scriptures becomes evident from the characteristics 
which distinguish them from all human writings. One of these characteristics 
is uncompromising truthfulness. The candid reader of the Bible cannot but 
be impressed with the conviction, that the sacred historians aimed to give a 
true and impartial record of the events and transactions which occurred in 
their times and in their nation. In no instance did they betray such partiality 
for their own people, as to prevent their telling the whole truth respecting 
their conduct. The corruptions and the evils of the times were exposed with 
a fidelity to history as candid and truthful as it was bold and faithful. The 
lives and conduct of patriarchs, priests, rulers, and other classes of people, 
were exhibited in the light of truth and fact, however humiliating to national 
pride and reputation. Their own personal faults were mentioned without 
attempts at concealment or palliation. The sins and errors of Abraham, of 
Jacob, of Moses, of David, of Solomon, of Peter, are faithfully narrated. In 
view of facts, which so distinguish the sacred writers from all other historians, 
we must infer that they wrote under the influence of a very different inspira¬ 
tion from that which has inspired the muse of profane history. 


PREFACE 


xiii 

The spirit of love pervades the sacred writings as a prominent element. The 
sacred writers ever showed themselves to be unselfish, unambitious men, whose 
aim was to do good to others. In pursuance of this generous purpose they 
made great sacrifices, they endured persecutions, trials, privations, and labors; 
and in some instances they showed a heroic devotion to the good of their 
fellow-men that was ready to die for them. Moses, for example, exiled himself 
from the privileges, pleasures and honors of the court of Egypt, for the sake 
of espousing the cause of an oppressed people. For them he labored and 
prayed, and by his intensely earnest intercessions he was instrumental in 
averting from them the menacing judgments of an offended God. He was 
willing to be blotted out of the book of God, if this were necessary to the sal¬ 
vation of the people whose cause he had espoused. We find in Elijah, Isaiah, 
Jeremiah, and Daniel, men of the same stamp—men in whose bosoms love for 
their people glowed with undying ardor. The same was true of the apostles. 
Paul was so intensely desirous of the salvation of his brethren after the flesh, 
that he would consent to be accursed from Christ, if this might be the means 
of saving them from their impending doom. With the like spirit the apostle 
John says, “We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” In these ex¬ 
amples do we not perceive the working of a more than earthly love ? Such 
love pervades the Bible, and shows that the men, in whose lives and actions 
such a spirit runs, were influenced by unearthly aims, divine impulses. 

The God of the Bible, unlike the deities revealed by man’s wisdom, is repre¬ 
sented as being love itself. “ God so loved the world, that he gave his only 
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have 
everlasting life.” God so loved the world. It was a love different from, and 
superior to, that general benevolence witnessed in the gifts of Providence. It 
was a sacrificing love, influenced by which he gave his Son to labor, and to suf¬ 
fer, and die for guilty man. This sublime idea could never have possessed the 
mind, save as it was revealed by a Divine inspiration. And in the life of the 
only-begotten Son we have a wonderful manifestation of love, love unparalleled 
in nature and degree. Impelled by it he endured the cross. While we were 
sinners Christ died for us. The revelation of such love must be traced to a 
higher source than the wisdom of this world. It carries with it the evidence 
of a Divine original. Such love as is revealed in the lives and teachings of the 
holy men of the Bible,—such love as that predicated of God, and witnessed in 
the life of Jesus, forming as it does a pervading element of the Sacred Scrip¬ 
tures, proves these Scriptures to be Divine in their origin. 

Another characteristic of Bible instruction is holiness. This element, as a 
distinguishing feature, pervades the laws, precepts, exhortations, psalms, doc¬ 
trines, and prophecies of the Bible. And when God is introduced as the object 
of love and worship, he is invested with an atmosphere of holiness. “Worship 
at his holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy.” The things prohibited, and 
the duties required, show that the pages of the Sacred Word are luminoua 
with the pure light of holiness. It is this peculiarity that makes the Bible an 


object of aversion with wicked men. They hate the light of sacred truth, and 
will not come to it, because it exposes their deeds of evil. This feature 
imparts to it a majesty and force which distinguish it from all other books, and 
strengthen the argument for its Divine inspiration. 

A fact peculiar to the Scriptures is the supreme regard they express for the 
honor and glory of God. They breathe a spirit of reverential piety that exalts 
Jehovah, as the object of supreme love, loyalty, and praise. The men of God, 
such men as Moses, David, Isaiah, Daniel, Paul, John, and Peter, disclaim all 
credit for their works of faith and labors of love, ascribing all to God. Theii 
devout acknowledgment is,—•“ Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto 
thy name give glory.” Very different is the spirit that pervades the views of 
men in general. They praise themselves for what they think is praise¬ 
worthy. And they glorify their fellow-men for such deeds of heroism, for such 
achievements and enterprises, as tend to inspire popular admiration. Histo¬ 
rians, poets, eulogists, limit their utterances to human instrumentalities and 
agencies, when speaking of the signal deeds of illustrious men. God and 
Providence are ignored. How very different the spirit that pervades the Sacred 
Writings. In them, whatever is great, and laudable, and noble, is ascribed to 
God. Jesus prayed,—“ Father, glorify thy name.” The same spirit is exhibited 
in the teachings of the sacred writers, a fact which shows that they spake and 
wrote as moved by the Holy Ghost. 

The characteristics thus enumerated, as distinguishing the writings of the 
Bible, show most conclusively that it is the Word of God. Take the one 
sublime statement with which the teachings of the Bible are introduced,—“ In 
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Here is recognized 
the unity of the Godhead, and this theology is with marvelous consistency 
carried along through all the writings of the Old Testament. Living, as the 
sacred writers did, amidst the surroundings of polytheism, they strenuously 
and persistently maintained the great cardinal truth, that the Lord Jehovah, 
the Creator of the world, was one God. How can such a fact be accounted for 
except on the ground that these holy men, patriarchs, prophets, and psalmists, 
were guided in their sublime utterances from age to age by a supernatural 
influence, which led them into the truth. 

Let us pass on to another source of evidence for the Divine authority of the 
Bible, viz.: the prophetical writings. No one will claim that mere human fore¬ 
sight can look down the ages, and tell of events of which there is no visible 
sign. But there are found scattered through the Scriptures from Moses to 
Malachi, predictions of signal events a long time before their fulfilment. New 
and increasing evidences of the truthfulness of these eminent prophecies are 
furnished by modem researches among the ruins of buried cities, whose 
destruction was foretold long before it took place. 

The splendid capital of the Assyrian Empire, Nineveh, must have seemed as 
though it might resist every hostile assault, and flourish for ages, at the time 
when Nahum and Zephaniah predicted its destruction, —the one 645, and the 


(PREFACE 


XT 

other 630 years B. C. These predictions specified details, circumstances, and 
agencies, in connection with which its overthrow would be effected. Improba* 
ble as these predictions must have appeared when uttered, they received literal 
fulfilment about 606 years B. C. The city was then laid waste, its noble mon¬ 
uments overthrown, and its inhabitants dispersed and carried into captivity. 
The ruins, which have been discovered by modern explorations, and which 
attest the magnificence of this ancient city, furnish historic illustration and 
confirmation of the ancient prophecies, and prove that they must have been 
revealed to the men by whom they were uttered. A heathen historian, who 
must have been ignorant of the Hebrew Scriptures, has given a narrative of 
the destruction of this great city, comprising all that was foretold. 

Babylon was once the glory of kingdoms,—the proud metropolis of the 
world; it was so when its doom was announced by Isaiah and Jeremiah. In 
the predictions uttered, the nations are specified by whom the city would be 
besieged and conquered, and the name of the conqueror was given, a hundred 
years before he was born, and the circumstances are noted that would accom¬ 
pany its overthrow. Improbable as the prophetic utterances seemed at first, as 
the course of time swept on, the things spoken by the prophets came to pass. 
Subsequent history has confirmed their truthfulness, and the ruins of this 
mighty kingdom, as brought to light by modern antiquarians, add unanswer¬ 
able testimony to the evidence, that all Scripture is given by inspiration 
of God. 

The doom of Tyre, the extermination of the Edomites, the desolation of 
Egypt, and especially the singular fortunes of the Hebrew nation,—as foretold 
by different prophets, attest the divinity of the prophetical writings, and 
strengthen the general argument for the supernatural origin of the entire Bible. 
The facts contained in the history of the Jews, as developed through a long 
course of ages, show in a most conclusive manner, that the spirit of prophecy 
pervades, and gives authority to the sacred writings. The growth of this 
people from a very humble origin, their peculiar nationality, their deliverance 
from Egyptian oppression, their possession of the land of Canaan, their in¬ 
stitutions, their civil wars, their captivity, their restoration, their subjugation 
to Roman dominion, and their final destruction as a nation, and more than all, 
their continued existence as an isolated race, show with singular particularity 
the truthfulness of the many predictions uttered by Moses and other prophets 
respecting them, making their historic record of unparalleled vicissitudes a 
standing monument, like a lone pillar in the desert, attesting the Divine 
authority of the Bible. 

The prophecies cited in the foregoing remarks, form only a small part of 
what are contained in the Scriptures. As a whole, they constituted an antici- 
pative history of the world, so far as such history stood related to the church. 
They have been in a continued course of fulfilment during successive genera¬ 
tions to the present time. Whence, we may inquire, this accurate foresight 
of future events ? Not from the foreseeing wisdom of men, for they know not 


PREFACE 


xvi 

what shall be on the morrow. We infer, therefore, that it could only have 
been possessed as a special gift from the omniscient God. Hence the Bible, 
which contains a record of these prophetic visions, must be a Divine book— 
the Word of God. 

The argument for this conclusion is fortified by the moral influence of the 
Scriptures. From the past, as well as the present history of the world, the 
fact cannot be questioned, that Bible knowledge has exerted a marked influence 
for good on the governments, laws, civilizations, institutions, and social condi¬ 
tion of states and communities, and on the character of individuals. 

History shows, that where there has been no Divine revelation, and conse¬ 
quently no clear knowledge of the only true God, governments have been 
established and laws enacted with a view, not to the good of subjects, but to 
the enthronement in seats of power of selfish, ambitious, unscrupulous rulers. 
The reign of oppression has been absolute and grinding wherever the Bible 
has been unknown. The old civilizations of the world, such as existed in 
Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome, though under them arts and 
architecture flourished, and classic literature attained a high degree of refine¬ 
ment, yet, so far as the masses of the people were concerned, ignorance, super¬ 
stition, corruption, oppression, and misery, characterized the state of society. 
The iron heel of despotic rule everywhere crushed out the life of struggling 
manhood. Men, stripped of their rights, were treated as of small account, 
except as instruments to be used to subserve the purposes and pleasures of a 
few irresponsible and remorseless potentates. 

In the absence of the elevating influences of the Word of God, the general 
course and drift of the people is in the direction of a debasing idolatry. There 
the social condition is marked by vices, corruptions, and cruelties of the 
grossest forms. No civilization that has lacked the moulding influence of 
Divine revelation, has ever possessed power to reform the habits of idolatry, to 
enlighten the ignorant masses, or to elevate a people to the sphere of knowledge 
and virtue. “ Where there is no vision, the people perish,” 

An entirely different phase of society is assumed where government, law, 
institutions, and religion, are brought into contact with the formative,—the 
regenerating influences of the Holy Scriptures. Nowhere else, however sunny 
the skies, or luxuriant the earth, or healthful the clime, does the moral land¬ 
scape refresh the sight with growths of living virtue, and scenes of attractive 
beauty. Nowhere else does government recognize the inalienable rights of 
the people, or protect them. Nowdiere else is the light of popular education 
diffused. Nowhere else are there found the noble institutions of philauthropy 
and benevolence. Nowhere else is the fundamental relation of marriage 
rightly understood and sacredly guarded. Nowhere else do temples and 
altars rise for the worship of the true and living God. Such results never flow 
from the sources of this world’s boasted wisdom. 

The late Dr. Wayland, as the result of wide observation and profound reflec¬ 
tion, has expressed his views as follows: “ That the truths of the Bible have the 


'PREFACE 


xvii 

power of awakening an intense moral feeling in man under every variety of 
character, learned or ignorant, civilized or savage; that they make bad men 
good, and send a pulse of healthful feeling throughout all the domestic, civil, 
and social relations; that they teach men to love right, to hate wrong, and to 
seek each other’s welfare as the children of one common Parent; that they 
control the baleful passions of the human heart, and thus make men proficient 
in the science of self-government; and finally, that they teach him to aspire 
after a conformity to a Being of infinite holiness, and fill him with hopes 
infinitely more purifying, more exalted, more suited to his nature, than any 
other which this world has ever known, are facts as incontrovertible as the 
laws of philosophy or demonstrations in mathematics.” No such moral forces 
ever proceeded from the teachings of man’s wisdom. The lessons of heathen 
sages never wrought any thorough or permanent reform in the lives of indi¬ 
viduals, or in the state of society. What human talent, culture, learning, and 
philosophy, have failed to accomplish, has been successfully achieved by the 
Word of God. In facts like these, facts patent to all candid observers, we find 
proof that the Bible is from heaven. 

The like conviction will flash upon the mind from a careful study of the 
adaptation of Scriptural instruction to the capacities, necessities, and conscious 
cravings of men of all races. God possessed a perfect knowledge of the wants 
of our fallen race when he revealed to them his Word. Hence we find the 
truths and teachings of the Bible, whether doctrinal, historical, prophetical, 
devotional, or moral, peculiarly adapted to the wants of men in making them 
wiser and better for this life, and fitting them for the higher life of the world 
to come. This Holy Book is equally adapted to meet the wants of mankind 
in whatever times, countries, or conditions they have existed. Such adapted¬ 
ness is beautifully illustrated and signally manifested, when its hallowed les¬ 
sons come to the soul in the trying emergencies of life, and especially in that 
eventful, solemn crisis, when man finds himself trembling on the margin of 
that unknown futurity, concerning which the oracle of uninspired reason re¬ 
veals no gleam of light, offers no relief, no peace. Then its precious worth is 
realized. “ If there is one great thing in this w T orld,” as another has said, “ it is 
the Bible of God —great in origin, great in thought, great in promise, great 
in beauty, great in its results! It hangs as by a golden cord from the throne 
of the Highest , and all heaven’s light, life, love, and sweetness, come down into 
it for us. It hangs there like a celestial harp; the daughters of sorrow tune 
it, and awake a strain of consolation. The hand of joy strikes it, and feels a 
divine note of gladness. The sinner comes to it, and it discourses to him of 
repentance and salvation. The saint bends an ear to it, and it talks to him of 
an Intercessor and an immortal kingdom. The dying man lays his trembling 
hand on it, and there steals thence into his soul the promise,—‘When thou 
passest through the waters, I will be with thee; when thou walkest through 
the fire, thou shalt not be burned.’ ‘ Be of good cheer, I have overcome the 
world.’ ‘ The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.’ Where is promise, 
where is philosophy, where is song, like this ?” 


XV111 


PREFACE 


The foregoing pages contain a condensed argument for the Divine authority 
of the Sacred Scriptures. A more elaborate and scientific statement of this 
argument would not comport with the design of this introductory article. 
Enough has been said, however, to show their superiority over any other books 
ever written. Such superiority becomes evident from the nature and impor¬ 
tance of the knowledge of which the Bible is the only authentic source. 

The history contained in this Sacred Book is more valuable than that found 
in any uninspired writings. It is not claimed that Bible history is a substitute 
for the general history of the world. It is more specially a history of the 
kingdom of God on earth. Other peoples and nations are referred to only as 
they were in some way connected with that kingdom. Genesis gives the 
Hebrew account of the history of the world from the creation till the death of 
Joseph, gradually narrowing the view so as to include principally the people 
of Israel. The Pentateuch appears to cover a period of about 2553 years, 
down to the death of Moses. No other record furnishes any reliable account 
of the creation of the world, the creation of man, the apostacy, the state of 
the human race before the deluge, the origin of nations as given in the 10th 
chapter of Genesis, the fives and fortunes of the early patriarchs, the sojourn 
of the Hebrews in Egypt, their exodus, the giving of the law, and the conquest 
of Canaan. There are twelve other books principally historical, which record 
events as connected with the Church of God to the time of the return of the 
Jews from the captivity. It is not supposed that the Bible chronicles contain 
a record of all the important events that transpired during these ages, but only 
such a selection as the Holy Spirit should suggest to the sacred historians. In 
this selection from existing documents, as well as what was revealed directly, 
special reference was had to what might be important for the use of the church 
in all subsequent ages. 

There ire other departments of knowledge which show the great superiority 
of Bible truth as a source of instruction. On those great and profoundly 
interesting subjects,—the existence and character of God, the origin, character, 
duties, and destinies of man, the future state, the plan of salvation through a 
Redeemer,—on these and many other subjects connected with them, there is 
no source of reliable knowledge outside of the Bible. Without the fight and 
truth which come to us from this Holy Book, —without its histories, its teach¬ 
ings, its precepts, its prophecies, its psalms, its gospels and epistles—how 
dark and gloomy were the condition of man from the cradle to the grave. 
Without God in the world, as revealed in the Bible, he would have no hope, no 
faith, no source of peace. The earth might revolve, as now, and seasons come 
and go with their stores and sources of temporal good, with alternating phases 
of sternness and beauty. The mountains also might tower upward in rugged 
grandeur, the rivers flow onward between smiling banks, the seas roar and lift 
up their waves in stormy sublimity, but what would man care for these exhibi¬ 
tions of wisdom, power, and loveliness, deaf as he would be to their utterances, 
while ignorant of what the Holy Word reveals ? What motive were there to 


PRE FACE 


xix 


vorship at the altar of “the unknown God,” or seek information about the 
anknown future by consulting the dumb oracle of uninspired reason ? Why 
should not man, thus groping in the region and shadow of death, limit his 
aims and labors to what shall minister merely to present gratification, accept¬ 
ing as his creed the frigid philosophy of the atheistic stoic,—“ Let us eat and 
drink; for to-morrow we shall die.” 

As darkness brooded over the chaotic abyss at one stage of the creative pro¬ 
cess, till “ the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters,” commanding 
the light to shine, kindling life and beauty, so the world of intelligent man 
were but a moral chaos, enveloped in thick darkness, unless the Spirit’s pres¬ 
ence should cause light to shine through the revelations of the Bible. The 
darkness would prevail till God said, “ Let there be light.” 

Pluck the sun from the heavens, and what would be the effect ? The star* 
might remain, but how poor a substitute would they be for the lost sun! 
Under their cold, twinkling radiance, what could live and flourish? The 
world might stand as now, but clad in perpetual darkness, save as relieved by 
star-light, deprived of the heat of the orb of day, how soon would its fields of 
verdure, and forms of beauty, and growths of fruit and vegetation fade, and 
wither, and freeze, and perish ! A result analogous to this would follow, were 
the Bible, the sun in the moral heavens, with all the light of which it has 
been, and is still the fountain, destroyed. Who can conceive the desolation 
that would follow ? The dial of human progress would, like that of Ahaz, 
reverse its shadow, and the w T orld would soon be thrown back into the rayless 
gloom of heathenism, barbarism, und universal corruption. The ruins of 
those beautiful creations, to which the Bible more than any other agency has 
contributed, might remain, but the glory of the moral world with its growing 
civilizations, its humane achievements, its noble institutions of learning and 
religion, would soon disappear forever. 

The authority of the Bible, as an inspired book, which differs from all other 
books, finds support in the great and leading purpose which it reveals, viz.: 
the redemption of man. It was no part in the design of God to make his 
word of truth a manual of science, or the source of such knowledge as can be 
acquired by observation and study. A higher end was embraced in his plan— 
the establishment of a hingdom in the world —the subjects of which should be 
redeemed from the ruins of the fall, and be “ purified unto himself a peculiar 
people, zealous of good works.” The materials incorporated into this great 
spiritual organization, were not to be selected from any one people, or from 
any one age. All kindreds and peoples, and all times, were included in 
the comprehensive plan of Divine wisdom and benevolence revealed in the 
Bible. 

The progressive development of God’s redeeming plan on to its consum* 
mation, furnishes a sublime historic exhibition of the wisdom and power 
which underlie it. In this respect it differs radically from all the plans of 
human improvement and elevation ever devised by reformers, philosophers, 


XX 


PREFACE 


or statesmen. It rises majestically, a tower of hope for a world lying in 
wickedness. 

The Old Testament, by its altars, types, personages, histories, prophecies, 
and peculiar institutions, pointed to the one great crowning event, which, “ in 
the fullness of time,” was realized in the mission of the incarnate Son of God, 
as the Saviour of men. It is this momentous truth that lends to the Old 
Testament such significance, value, and glory. It was all along the ages a 
forthsh ado wing of his coming, who was to be a Mediator between God and 
alienated man. 

As the great Teacher, the atoning Mediator, the regal Head over all things 
to the Church, Jesus Christ is the Divine , the Central Object of Bible revela¬ 
tions, in which truth and prophecy meet, and find a marvelous fulfilment. 
From him they derive light and power, and by him they are clothed with 
authority that claims the reverence and faith of all men. The Bible is, 
emphatically, “ the wisdom of God, and the power of God unto salvation.” It 
gives light where all human teachings leave the inquiring mind in darkness; 
it inspires peace of conscience and relief of soul, where all other teachings 
only perplex and confuse; it is a well-spring of refreshing hope and comfort, 
where all mere human writings prove dry and barren. A pillar of cloud by 
day, and a pillar of fire by night, it shows the way to heaven. 

The teachings of the Bible are not only so profound as to command the 
attention of the mightiest intellect, and awaken earnest inquiry in men of the 
highest culture, but they are so plain and simple as to be adapted to the hum¬ 
blest capacity. The least and the lowest of the human family may find in 
the Bible what is suited to their understanding. Matchless wisdom and pure 
simplicity, so wonderfully united in its teachings, show that it is a book for 
all mankind, for the humblest peasant and the profoundest student. “ This 
supreme and mighty Book,” says another,—“ the Boole of mankind —finds no 
domain inaccessible to it, and no fragment of the human race for which it has 
not a vitalizing power.” 

In these respects how greatly does the Bible differ from all mere human 
compositions, whether philosophies, sciences, theologies, histories, or codes of 
law. These are constructed with reference to the concerns of the present life, 
revolutions, reforms, political changes, and social improvements. They have 
their day of popularity and influence, and then are consigned to dumb forget¬ 
fulness, never more to be revived. Such is the common fate of the productions 
of the human intellect. Very few of them outlive the generation when they 
had their birth. However brilliant or popular for a time, they pass away as a 
dream, while the Bible lives on unchanged and imperishable, more and more 
read, believed in, and loved. What better witness do we need that it is Divine ? 

The Bible is sufficient to instruct and comfort men of the loftiest intellect 
and highest culture, and is no less adapted to the younger classes of society. 
It has taught the little ones of the Christian household more about God, and 
heaven, the origin, the duty, and the destiny of man, than the wisest sages ever 


PREFACE 


xxi 


knew. Jewish parents were required to store the minds and memories of 
their children with Scripture truths. Jesus in his childhood nad become so 
well acquainted with the Scriptures, that he could converse about them with 
the Doctors in the temple. 

In an age like the present, when error and delusion, in fascinating forms, 
imperil the principles and morals of the young, the greatest safeguard for their 
protection is a knowledge of God’s Holy Word. Its sacred histories are replete 
with attractive and startling lessons of truth and warning easily understood j 
and as a preparation for a knowledge of preceptive and doctrinal theology, 
they hold an important place. The simplicity and clearness of these lessons, 
recommend them especially as aids to that religious culture, to which the 
young mind and heart should be subjected. To answer this important pur¬ 
pose the work, here introduced, was originally prepared, and seems admirably 
fitted. The estimate in which it is held in the country where it was first pub¬ 
lished, appears from the fact, that successive editions have been demanded. 

As an introductory article, it has been thought, that its value would be 
enhanced by exhibiting in a simple manner some of the more obvious and con¬ 
clusive evidences, which may be adduced in vindication of the claims of the 
Bible to the faith, the study, and the reverence, not only of those who move in 
the higher sphere of life, but of those also who dwell on lower ground—the 
masses, many of whom are but children in religious knowledge. To instruct, 
interest, and benefit this numerous class of readers, as children and youth, this 
work, it is believed, possesses a special adaptedness. 

With these convictions, this humble service is commended to the blessing of 
Him, whose Holy Word not only giveth light, but maketh wise unto salvation. 

ALVAN BOND. 

Norwich, Cojtn. 
















CONTENTS 


VOLUME I 


OLD TESTAMENT 

PAGE 

Introduction . v 

Preface . j x 

CHAP. 

1. The Creation. Gen. i. 11. 25 

2. The Beginning of Sin. Gen. iii. 26 

3. Cain and Abel. Gen. iv. 27 

4. The Deluge. Gen. vi.-ix.; xi. 28 

5. Abram. Gen. xii.; xiii. 30 

6. Melchizedek. Gen. xiv. 31 

7. Abram’s Vision. Gen. xv. 32 

8. Hagar. Gen. xvi. 32 

9. The Covenant. Gen. xvii. 33 

10. The Angel’s Visit. Gen. xviii. 34 

11. Sodom Destroyed. Gen. xix. 35 

12. Isaac. Gen. xxi.-xxiii. 36 

13. Isaac’s Family. Gen. xxiv.; xxv. 27. 37 

14. Jacob and Esau. Gen. xxvii.; xxviii. 39 

15. Jacob with Laban. Gen. xxix.-xxxiii. 41 

16. Jacob at Bethel. Gen. xxxv. 43 

17. Joseph and his Brethren. Gen. xxxvii. 44 

18. Joseph in Prison. Gen. xxxix. 19-xl. 46 

19. Pharaoh’s Dreams. Gen. xli.; xlii. 47 

20. Benjamin Sent to Egypt. Gen. xlii. 26-xlv. 49 

21. Jacob in Egypt. Gen. xlvi.; xlvii. 51 

22. Jacob’s Death. Gen. xlvii. 28-1. 52 

23. An Example of Patience. Job i. 53 

24. Job in Trouble. Job. ii. 55 

25. Job and His Friends. Job. iii.-xxxi. 56 

26. Elihu. Job xxxii.-xxxix.... 57 

27. The Benefit of Affliction. Job. xl.-xlii. 59 

28. The Cruel King. Ex. i.; ii. 60 

29. The Best Riches. Ex. ii. 11; Heb. xi. 24-26. 62 

30. The Burning Bush. Ex. iii.; iv. 63 

31. The First Four Plagues. Ex. v.-viii. 65 

32. More Plagues. Ex. ix.-xii. 66 

33. The Departure of the Israelites. Ex. xii. 29-xiii. 68 

34. Pharaoh Drowned. Ex. xiii. 17-xv. 69 

35. Food in the Desert. Ex. xvi. 71 









































Xxiv CONTENTS 

CHAP. PAGE 

36. Rephidim. Ex. xvii. 72 

37. Jethro’s Visit. Ex. xviii. 73 

38. Mount Sinai. Ex. xix. 74 

39. The First Four Commandments. Ex. xx. 75 

40. The Last Six Commandments. Ex. xx. 12. 77 

41. The Law. Ex. xx. 18; xxiv. 78 

42. The Golden Calf. Ex. xxxii. 79 

43. The Idolators Punished. Ex. xxxii. 20; xxxiii. 80 

44. The New Tables. Ex. xxxiv. 81 

45. The Tabernacle. Ex. xxxv.-xxxviii.; xl. 82 

46. The Priests’ Garments. Ex. xxxix. 84 

47. The Priests. Lev. viii. 85 

48. The Sacrifices and Feasts. Ex. xxix. 38; Lev. xxiii. 86 

49. The Jubilee. Lev. xxv. 88 

50. Nadab and Abihu. Lev. x. 89 

51. The Moving of the Camp. Numb. ix.;x. 90 

52. Horab. Numb. x. 29. 91 

53. The Quails. Numb, xi. 92 

54. The Spies. Numb, xiii. 93 

55. The Sabbath-Breaker. Numb. xv. 32. 94 

56. The Rebellion of Korah. Numb, xvi. 95 

57. Aaron’s Rod. Numb, xvii. 97 

58. The Death of Miriam. Numb, xx. w . 98 

59. The Striking of the Rock. Numb. xx. 2. 98 

60. The Fiery Serpents. Numb. xxi. 4. 99 

61. Balaam. Numb, xxii. 101 

62. Balaam’s Ass. Numb. xxii. 21. 102 

63. Balaam’s Prophecy. Numb. xxii.; 36; xxiv.; xxxi.8. 103 

64. The Death of Moses. Numb, xxvii. 12; Deut. xxxiv. 104 

65. Rahab. Jos. i.; ii. 105 

66. Jordan. Jos. iii.;iv. 106 

67. Jericho Taken. Jos. vi. 107 

68. Achan. Jos. vii.; viii. 107 

69. The Gibeonites. Jos. ix. 109 

70. The Kings Conquered. Jos. x. 110 

71. The Division of Canaan. Numb, xxxii.; Jos. xiii. 112 

72. The Cities of Refuge. Numb. xxxv. 10; Jos. xx. 113 

73. The Death of Joshua. Jos. xxiv. 114 

74. King Eglon. Jud. ii.; iii. 115 

75. The Death of Sisera. Jud. iv.;v. 116 

76. The Midianites. Jud. vi. 117 

77. Gideon. Jud. vi. 12. 118 

78. Baal’s Altar. Jud. vi. 25. 119 

79. The Little Army. Jud. vi. 36; vii. 120 

80. The Night Before the Battle. Jud. vii. 9. 123 

81. Gideon’s Victory. Jud. vii. 16; viii. 123 

82. Abimelech. Jud. ix. 124 

83. Jephtha. Jud. xi. 125 

84. Manoah. Jud. xiii. 127 

85. Samson’s Feast. Jud. xiv. 128 

















































CONTENTS 


XXV 


CHAP. PAGE 

86. Samson and the Philistines. Jud. xv. 129 

87. Samson Taken. Jud. xvi. 130 

88. Samson’s Death. Jud. xvi. 23. 131 

89. Naomi and Ruth. Ruth i. 132 

90. The Harvest Field. Ruth ii. 134 

91. Boaz. Ruth ii. 5; iv. 135 

92. Hannah’s Prayer. 1 Sam. i. 136 

93. Little Samuel. 1 Sam. ii. 137 

94. Samuel Called. 1 Sam. iii. 138 

95. Eli’s Sons. 1 Sam. iii. 11. 139 

96. Eli’s Death. 1 Sam. iv. 140 

97. Dagon and the Ark. 1 Srffh. v.; vi. 141 

98. The Ark. 1 Sam. vi. 13; vii. 142 

99. Eben-Ezer. 1 Sam. vii. 7. 143 

100. The New King. 1 Sam. viii. 144 

101. Saul. 1 Sam. ix. 145 

102. Saul Made King. 1 Sam. x. 146 

103. Samuel’s Warning. 1 Sam. xii.. ... 147 

104. Saul’s Disobedience. 1 Sam. xiii.; xiv. 148 

105. The Amalekites. 1 Sam. xv. 150 

106. Jesse’s Sons. 1 Sam. xvi. 152 

107. David’s Harp. 1 Sam. xvi. 14. 153 

108. Goliath. 1 Sam. xvii. 154 

109. The Two Friends. 1 Sam. xviii. 156 

110. Saul’s Hatred to David. 1 Sam. xviii.; xix. 157 

111. David at Ramah. 1 Sam. xix. 18. 158 

112. David’s Escape. 1 Sam. xx. 159 

113. David at Nob. 1 Sam. xxi. 161 

114. The Priests Killed. 1 Sam. xxii. 162 

115. David’s Wanderings. 1 Chron. xi. 15; 1 Sam. xxiii. 163 

116. Saul in the Cave. 1 Sam. xxiv. 164 

117. Nabal and Abigail. 1 Sam. xxv. 165 

118. David’s Kindness to Saul. 1 Sam. xxvi. 166 

119. David at Ziklag. 1 Sam. xxvii. 168 

120. Ziklag Burnt. 1 Sam. xxx. 169 

121. The Witch of Endor. 1 Sam. xxviii. 170 

122. The Death of Saul. 1 Sam. xxxi.; 2 Sam. i. 171 













































LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

VOLUME ONE 

PAGE 

The Deluge. Frontispiece •''' 

Rebecca Meets Isaac by the Way. 38 ^ 

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dream. 46*^ 

Joseph and Benjamin. 50 ^ 

Moses Speaks to Pharaoh. 64*" 

Moses and the Ten Commandments. 76*" 

Moses Smiteth the Rock in the Desert. 98*' 

Gideon Chooses the Three Hundred. 120*^ 

Samson Puts Forth a Riddle. 128*^ 

Eli Sendeth Out Samuel. 138*^ 

David Plays the Harp Before Saul. 152 * 

David Slings the Stone. 154*^ 

Saul Slain in Battle. 170 ^ 

Map, Countries Mentioned in the Bible. 172/ 




































































OLD TESTAMENT 


I. 


y h e 



E A T I O N . 


ANY years ago, there was 
no earth, nor plants, nor 
animals, nor sun, nor 
moon, nor people. All 
was darkness ; but G-od was. God 
is eternal; He had no beginning, 
He will have no end. 

God spoke, and created all things 
by his wonderful power. The first 
day, He created light: the second 
day, the blue sky; the third day, 
the seas and dry land, and trees; 
the fourth day, the sun, and moon, 
and stars; the fifth day, the birds 
and fishes; the sixth day, beasts, 
and insects, and creeping things, 
and man. Then all was finished, 
and “ God saw everything that He 
had made, and behold it was very | 
good.” “ The seventh day God 
ended His work which He had 
made.” God rested on that day, 
and therefore He commands us to 
rest on the Sabbath day. He says, 
“Remember the Sabbath day, to 
keep it holy.” 

“The Lord God formed man of 
the dust of the ground, and breath¬ 
ed into his nostrils the breath of 
life, and man became a living 
soul.” God gave to the animals 
beautiful and useful bodies; but 


i to man He gave more: He gave 
‘ him a soul also, which could 
never die. God gave wonderful 
instinct to the animals; but He 
gave reason to man, power to know 
and to love, and to worship God. 
The man’s name was Adam. God 
created him holy and happy. “And 
the Lord God planted a garden 
eastward in Eden, and there He 
put the man.” The garden was 
full of beautiful trees and flowers; 
the little birds sang sweetly, and 
the animals all played together 
upon the green grass; they did not 
fight, nor hurt one another; all 
was love and happiness, because 
there was no sin. It was warm 
I and pleasant, there was no cold 
wind, no snow, no winter. 

“The Lord God took the man, 
and put him into the garden of 
Eden, to dress it, and to keep it.’ 
But God said, “ It is not good that 
the man should be alone; I will 
make him an help meet for him.” 
When Adam was asleep, God took 
a rib out of his side, and made it a 
woman, and brought her to Adam, 
and she was his wife. Her name 
was Eve. She had a soul and rea¬ 
son like Adam, and was holy and 










26 


THE BEGINNING OF SIN. 


happy as he was. God said to them, 
• Of every tree in the garden ye 
may eat; but of the fruit of the 
tree of the knowledge of good and 
evil, which is in the midst of the 
garden, ye shall not eat, lest ye die.” 

Adam and Eve loved one another, 


and they loved God. They walked 
in the beautiful garden, and sang 
praise to God, without pain, or sor¬ 
row, or fear; and they loved to 
hear God speak to them, and to 
learn the wonderful things He 
taught them. 


II. 


JhE j3 E G I N I 

a HERE was a wicked angel 
of old, named Satan. 
Once he had been a bright 
and happy angel in heav¬ 
en ; but he was disobedient and 
God drove him out of heaven, 
and many other wicked angels 
with him. Sin cannot be in heaven; 
all must be holy there. “God spared 
not the angels that sinned, but cast 
them down into hell.” 2 Pet. ii. 4. 

Satan hated Adam and Eve, be¬ 
cause they were holy and happy, 
and he was wicked and miserable; 
and he went into the garden, and 
appeared like a serpent, and spoke 
to Eve, and tempted her to eat the 
fruit which God had forbidden. 
But Eve said, “ God commanded us, 
saying, Ye shall not eat of it, lest 
ye die.” Then Satan told a lie, for 
“ he is a liar, and the father of it,” 
John viii. 44, and said, “You shall 
not surely die.” And Eve was 
tempted to believe Satan, and she 
took the fruit of the tree of knowl¬ 
edge of good and evil, and ate, and 
gave to Adam, and he ate. God 
saw all this, and He was very angry. 
Adam and Eve were sinners now, 
their holiness and happiness were 
gone, and God would punish them 
for their sin. “They heard the 


[ I N G OF jblN, 

voice of the Lord God, walking in 
the garden in the cool of the day; 
and Adam and his wife hid them¬ 
selves.” Why did they fear ? Be¬ 
cause they knew they had sinned; 
they knew that God was angry with 
them: they were not glad now to 
hear His voice; they could not now 
sing His praises, and talk happily 
to Him. But Adam and Eve could 
not hide themselves from God, for 
He can see everywhere. “ The 
eyes of the Lord are in every place, 
beholding the evil and the good.” 
Prov. xv. 3. 

God called Adam, and said to 
him, “ Hast thou eaten of the fruit 
of which I commanded thee not to 
eat?” and Adam did not humbly 
confess his sin, but answered, “ The 
woman gave it to me, and I ate.” 
Then God said to Eve, “What is 
this that thou hast done ? ” and she 
answered, “The serpent tempted 
me, and I ate.” Then God told 
Adam and Eve that they had sin¬ 
ned, and therefore they must die. 
Thorns and thistles would now 
grow in the beautiful world; they 
must labor, and suffer pain and 
sorrow all the days they lived, and 
then “ die, and return to the dust.” 
Their bodies must die; but where 








CAIN AND ABEL. 


27 


must their souls go? They could 
not die, because they were immor¬ 
tal : and they could not go to heav¬ 
en, because they were sinful. 
Heaven is holy; “ there shall in no 
wise enter into it anything that 
defileth.” Must the souls of Adam 
and Eve, and all their children, be 
lost ? No—God did not wish his 
sinful creatures to perish. He 
said, “ Deliver their souls from 
going down into the pit; I have 
found a ransom.” Job xxxiii. 24. 


God said, that the seed of the 
woman should bruise the serpent’s 
head. What did this mean? Sa¬ 
tan was the serpent; Jesus Christ 
was the Seed of the woman. In due 
time, Jesus would come into the 
world, and subdue Satan, and de¬ 
liver all who should believe, from 
Satan’s power, from sin and death. 
If we, like Adam and Eve, have 
faith in Jesus, we shall be saved as 
they were, and made eternally hap¬ 
py when we die. 


sCOOo. 


III. 


P A I N AN 

JT though God forgave 
Adam and Eve, He would 
not let them remain in the 
garden. Av ngel came 
with a flaming sword to 
drive them away. They were sinners, 
and therefore they must not stay 
there. Now, they felt pain and 
sorrow; and when their children 
were born, they were sinful children. 

Cain, the eldest son of Adam and 
Eve, was very wicked; but his 
brother Abel loved and prayed to 
God, and believed in Jesus. Abel 
was a shepherd: and, at God’s com¬ 
mand, he took a lamb, and killed 
it, and offered it up in sacrifice. 
Abel sacrificed the lamb in faith, 
and in obedience: Cain offered a 
sacrifice too, but not the right sort 
of sacrifice, and not in the right 
way. He brought the fruits of the 
earth, and gave them to God. But 
he did not confess his sins, nor ask 
for forgiveness; so God accepted 
Abel, and his sacrifice; but Cain, 
and his sacrifice. He did not accept. 


D BEL. 

But when Cain knew God was an¬ 
gry, he did not ask God to forgive 
him, and change his heart; he was 
sullen and jealous, because God ac¬ 
cepted his brother, and did not 
accept him. God said to Cain, 
“Why art thou angry? If thou 
doest well, shalt thou not also be 
accepted?” for God was willing to 
forgive Cain. But Cain would not 
attend to what God said; Satan 
was in his heart, tempting him to 
be angry and passionate, and Cain 
did not “ resist the devil.” 

One day, Cain and Abel were 
together in the field. They were 
alone; Adam and Eve were not 
there; and Cain struck Abel, and 
killed him. Abel’s body fell dead 
upon the ground; but his soul did 
not die; Cain could not hurt that: 
it went to heaven, to be there in 
happiness for ever. God saw Cain 
kill his brother, and asked, “Where 
is Abel?” and wicked Cain com¬ 
mitted another sin, and told a lie, 
and said, “ I know not.” But God 









28 


THE DELUGE. 


had seen Abel die, and He punished 
Cain, and drove him away, far from 
his father, and mother, and broth¬ 
ers, and sisters; and he was a wan¬ 
derer in the earth. 

Adam and Eve were very sorry 
for their dear son. When they 
looked on his dead body, they must 
have thought of their own sin, and 


of the punishment of sin: and how 
glad they must have been to re¬ 
member God’s promise, that Jesus 
should come and die to save sin¬ 
ners. They lived to be hundreds 
of years old, and then they died. 
Their bodies were buried in the 
tomb; but we may hope that their 
souls went to heaven. 


IV. 


I HE p 

ANY people were in the 
world, and most of them 
were very wicked; but a 
holy man was among 
them, named Enoch. The 
Bible says, “Enoch walked with 
God;” what does this mean? It 
means that Enoch’s sins were par¬ 
doned, and that he was at peace 
with God, and that he loved and 
served Him. God blessed Enoch, 
aud was pleased to take him to hea¬ 
ven without dying. “ He was not, 
for God took him.” 

“ God saw that the wickedness of 
man was great upon the earth.” 
And He said, He would destroy the 
wicked people, and send a flood of 
water to wash them all away. But 
there was then another holy man, 
named Noah, and God promised to 
save him. God commanded Noah 
to make a great ark of wood. Noah 
did as God told him, and when the 
ark was finished, he went in, with 
his wife, and his three sons, Shem, 
Ham, and Japlieth, and the wives of 
his sons, and many beasts and birds, 
and creeping things; and “the 
Lord shut him in.” The wicked 
people would not go into the ark, 


E LU GE. 

nor believe Noah when he told 
them that the water was soon com¬ 
ing to drown them all. God waited 
in mercy many years; for He did 
not wish them to perish. But they 
would not repent, nor believe, nor 
turn to God; and, at last, He sent 
rain from heaven, and water out of 
the sea, and washed away the wick¬ 
ed people. “ The rain was upon the 
earth forty days and forty nights,” 
and every thing in the earth died. 
Was Noah safe? Yes: the ark 
floated upon the waters; it did not 
sink, because God kept it up. God 
will keep safely all who, like Noah, 
love and serve Him. He can keep 
them in every place. When they 
are asleep in the dark night, God 
sees them; when they walk about, 
He is with them; when they are in 
storms upon the great sea, He can 
keep them. He sends His holy an¬ 
gels to take care of them; His eye 
is always upon them. Those are 
happy people who have God near, 
to love and keep them wherever 
they are. And the ark may remind 
us of the Lord Jesus Christ. If 
we are in Him, by faith, then we 
shall be safe for ever from God’s 









THE DELUGE. 


29 


anger, as Noah was safe in the ark 
from the waters of the flood. 

When the rain was over, the ark 
rested upon a mountain, called Ara¬ 
rat, and Noah looked out. All the 
ground was covered with water. 
There were no trees, nor flowers; 
they were withered and dead. There 
were no people, nor beasts, nor 
birds; the water had drowned them 
all. Then Noah opened a window 
in the ark, and sent out a raven. 
The raven flew about, and did not 
return to Noah. Then Noah sent 
out a dove. But the dove was not 
like the raven; it would not feed 
upon the dead bodies, and there was 
no resting-place for it; so it flew 
back again, and Noah put out his 
hand and pulled it into the ark. 
Seven days after, Noah sent out the 
dove again ; and in the evening it 
returned, and brought in its beak 
an olive leaf. Noah was very glad 
to see this leaf; because he knew 
by it that now the trees were begin¬ 
ning to bud and grow, and that 
soon all would be dry and pleasant 
again. So Noah thanked God, and 
waited patiently for seven more 
days; and then he sent out the 
dove again. All was dry now. The 
trees and flowers grew, and the sun 
shone brightly and pleasantly. The 
dove did not return any more to 
the ark. God gave it instinct to 
build its nest among the trees, and 
to find food for itself without Noah 
to take care of it. 

Noah took the covering off the 
ark, and looked, and he saw that all 
was dry. Then God told him to 
come out, with his family, and all 
the living things that were with 
him. They were glad to see the dry 
ground again, and the sun, and 

3 


trees, and flowers, so beautiful and 
fresh. They were all well; for God 
had kept them safely in the ark 
from the wind and the waters. 
Then Noah and his family thanked 
God, and built an altar, and offered 
joyful sacrifices in faith, and prayed, 
and praised the Lord. 

And God set a beautiful rainbow 
in the sky, and he told Noah, that 
when it should rain again upon the 
earth, and the clouds should be 
black and heavy, then the rainbow 
should be seen in the cloud, that 
people might know that God would 
not again drown the world. The 
sun shining upon the little drops of 
water in the rain-cloud, makes the 
bow, and its beautiful colors; 
God sends the rain, and the cloud, 
and the sunshine to make the 
bow, that we may remember his 
promise to Noah, never to drown 
the world again. But God sends 
rain from heaven, to make the 
grass and corn grow; to water 
the ground, and make the trees and 
flowers bud and blossom. God is 
very good and kind. “ He maketh 
grass to grow upon the mountains; 
He giveth to the beast his food, and 
to the young ravens which cry.” 
Ps. cxlvii. 8, 9. 

When Noah and his family came 
out of the ark, they went into dif¬ 
ferent places, and built cities and 
houses; and they had many chil¬ 
dren, and the earth was soon full of 
people again. These people all 
spoke the same language. Many of 
them were very wicked. They 
sought to make themselves great, 
not to please God; and, in their 
pride, they said, “ Let us build us a 
city, and a tower whose top may 
reach unto heaven; and let us 




30 


ABRAM. 


make us a name, lest we be scattered 
abroad .” But God was angry with 
them, because they were proud, and 
forgot Him. And He confounded 
their speech, and made them speak 
different languages; so that they 
could not understand one another, 


nor finish the city and tower. The 
place was named Babel, or confu¬ 
sion, and the wicked people were 
scattered abroad upon the face of 
the earth. See how God hates and 
punishes pride! 


Y. 

Jh. B F^A M . 


HERE was a man named 
Abram, who lived in Me¬ 
sopotamia. The people 
there were idolators, but 
Abram worshipped God. 
God told Abram to go away from 
his home, into the land of Canaan; 
and He promised to bless him, if he 
did so. Abram obeyed directly ; he 
took his wife, and his nephew Lot, 
and all he possessed, and went to 
Canaan. This showed hisdaith and 
obedience; and God did as He 
promised, and brought Abram safely 
to Sichem, and then said to him, 
“Unto thy seed will I give this 
land.” Abram then had no chil¬ 
dren ; but still he believed God, and 
“built an altar to the Lord, and 
called upon the name of the Lord.” 

Abram was very rich: he had 
silver, and gold, and asses, and 
camels, and servants. His nephew 
Lot was rich too, and there was not 
room in the land for the posses¬ 
sions of both Lot and Abram ; and 
their servants were unkind, and 
quarreled with one another. Abram 
did not like to see this, for he wish¬ 
ed all to be love and peace. So he 
asked Lot to separate from him, 
and co go to the place he liked best. 
Then Lot looked towards Jordan; 
it was a beautiful place, like a sweet 


garden, and full of water. So Lot 
chose to go to Sodom; because it 
was very pleasant, and there would 
be much food there for him, and 
for his cattle. Lot was very selfish; 
for he did not try to please Abram, 
he only tried to please himself. Let 
us always try to remember, that the 
Bible tells us to love others as well 
as ourselves. 

Abram and Lot parted, and Lot 
went to live in Sodom. But Lot 
was not happy there. The people 
were very wicked, and he was vexed, 
because they would not love and wor¬ 
ship God, as he wished to do. And 
now Lot was punished for his sin in 
going among wicked people, and 
choosing a home in a place where 
God was not obeyed. We should 
try to be with those who love the 
Lord, and who will help us to do 
right. Riches apd possessions can 
not make us happy; the love of God 
alone can give us peace and comfort. 
And therefore Abram was happier 
than Lot was, in the rich city 
of Sodom. And God blessed Abram, 
and said to him again, “ All the 
land which thou seest, to thee will I 
give it, and to thy children.” Then 
Abram went to Hebron, and dwelt 
there, and built an altar to the 
Lord. 











MELCHIZEDEK. 


31 


VI. 


JA. ELCHIZEDEK. 


OON after Lot went to 
live in Sodom, a great 
king named Chedorlao- 
mer, and other kings with 
him, came, and fought 
against the city and the people of 
Sodom. Chedorlaomer conquered 
the king of Sodom, and took away 
all the riches of the city, and made 
many of the people prisoners, and 
Lot was made prisoner among them. 
See how vain and foolish it is to 
love and trust in riches and worldly 
things! Lot went to Sodom, hop¬ 
ing to enjoy all his great posses¬ 
sions : now, he had lost everything, 
and was made prisoner himself. 

When Abram heard what had 
happened to Lot, he armed himself, 
and his servants, and pursued the 
army of Chedorlaomer, and smote 
them, and brought all the people 
and goods that Chedorlaomer had 
taken, and delivered Lot; and Lot 
returned in safety to Sodom. The 
king of Sodom offered to give great 
riches to Abram; but Abram would 
not take any reward; for he wished 
only to show kindness to others, 
not to enrich himself. Let us try 
to imitate Abram, and to be kind 
and generous as he was. The Bible 
says, “ Look not every man on his 


own things, but every man also on 
the things of others.” Phil. ii. 4. 

When Abram returned, the king 
of Salem, who was named Melchize- 
dek, came out to meet him, and 
gave bread and wine to him and his 
servants, to refresh them. Mel- 
chizedek was a priest as well as a 
king, and he blessed Abram, and 
said, “ Blessed be Abram of the 
most high God, possessor of heaven 
and earth; and blessed be the most 
high God, which hath delivered 
thine enemies into thy hands.” 
Then Abram gave Melchizedek a 
tenth part of all the riches that had 
been taken, to show how much he 
honored and respected him. 

We read no more of the history 
of Melchizedek; but the Bible 
teaches us, that he is to remind us 
of another and greater king and 
priest—of the Lord Jesus Christ 
himself. Melchizedek was a type, a 
likeness, of Jesus. Jesus is a king; 
He reigns in the hearts of his peo¬ 
ple now; He will reign over all the 
world hereafter. And he is a priest 
too ; He has offered up the sacrifice 
of himself, to take away our sins, 
and He ever lives in heaven, to 
make intercession for us there. 







32 


HAGAR. 


VII. 


Jk B R A M ' S 


y I S I O N . 



now the Lord spoke 
to Abram again in a vision, 
to comfort and encourage 
him. God promised to 
do great and wonderful 
things for him at some future time, 
but not yet; for He was pleased first 
to try Abram’s faith and patience. 
One night, God brought him out 
into the fields, and told him to look 
upwards. The stars were shining 
brightly in the sky, and God told 
Abram to try to count them; but 
there were more, many more, than 
Abram could number. Then God 
said, “ So shall thy seed be.” Abram 
had yet no children, but he believed 
God still. He felt sure, that the 
Lord could and would do as He 
promised. This is an example of 
faith for us. God speaks to us in 
the Bible, and all he says we are to 
believe. And those who truly be¬ 
lieve, will be blessed with faithful 
Abram. 

God promised Abram that he 
should inherit the land of Canaan ; 
and He told him what would hap¬ 
pen to his children, when he himself 
was dead. God commanded Abram 
to take several animals, and to di¬ 


vide them in pieces, and offer them 
in sacrifice, and when the birds 
came to devour the dead bodies of 
these animals, Abram drove them 
away. That same night, God spoke 
to Abram again, and told him, that 
his children should go into a strange 
land, and be afflicted there; but 
that after 400 years, they should 
come out of that land, with great 
riches, and possess all the country 
of Canaan. And when it was dark, 
Abram saw, in vision, a smoking 
furnace, and a burning lamp, which 
passed between the pieces of the 
sacrifice, which Abram had offered 
at God’s command. 

What was the meaning of this ? 
Perhaps the vision was meant to 
teach Abram, what should happen 
to his children, in that strange land 
to which they were going. The 
smoking furnace might teach him 
that they would be afflicted; and 
the bright lamp might teach him 
that they would be comforted. God 
often afflicts his people, but He 
always comforts them too ; and so, 
as we shall soon see, He afflicted and 
comforted Abram’s children, the peo¬ 
ple of Israel in the land of Egypt. 


OCCC 


VIH. 




A 


GAR. 


ARAI, the wife of Abram, 
had a maid named Hagar, 
who was also Abram’s 
wife. Hagar behaved dis¬ 
respectfully to her mis¬ 
tress, and this made Sarai angry, 


and she treated Hagar very harshly, 
and was so unkind to her, that Ha¬ 
gar ran away from her mistress, and 
fled into the wilderness. It was 
wrong of Hagar to be disrespectful 
to her mistress; and it was wrong 









THE COVENANT. 


38 


of Sarai to be unkind to her ser¬ 
vant; and Abram himself was 
wrong in allowing these things to 
happen in his family. 

But what became of Hagar ? The 
angel of the Lord found her in the 
wilderness, by a well of water, and 
said to her, “ Hagar, whence earnest 
thou?” And Hagar answered, “I 
flee from my mistress Sarai.” Then 
the angel told Hagar to return to 
her mistress, and to submit to her. 
This was Hagar’s duty, and she 
could not be blessed nor happy 
while she forgot this duty, and gave 
way to her own pride and self-will. 
But the angel comforted Hagar, 
though he reproved her, and told 
her that she would have a son, who 
would be the father of a great na¬ 
tion. That son was to be named 
Ishmael, which means, “ God shall 


hear,” because God had heard the 
affliction of Hagar, and had mercy 
on her. And the Angel said, that 
Ishmael should be a wild man, and 
that his hand would be against every 
man, and every man’s hand against 
him. Ishmael was born not long 
after, and from him descended the 
nation of the Arabians, who have 
always been a wild people, as the 
angel foretold. 

So Hagar was comforted; and 
she did as she was commanded, and 
returned to Sarai. But first, she 
gave a name to the angel who had 
appeared to her. She called him, 
“Thou God seest me.” He saw 
Hagar in her affliction, and He can 
still see us in all our sorrows, and 
bless and comfort us, as he did her, 
if we pray to Him, and trust in 
Him. 


coo® 


IX. 


y h e 


F 


O V EN ANT. 


^/y^FTER this, the Lord ap- 
“ peared to Abram, and 
again promised to bless 
and multiply him, and 
give him the land of Ca¬ 
naan, for a possession. And God 
changed his name, and called him 
Abraham, which means the father 
of a multitude, because many peo¬ 
ple should descend from him. And 
Sarai’s name also was changed to Sa¬ 
rah, which means a princess. Then 
the Lord appointed a sign in Abra¬ 
ham’s family, to mark them as a 
distinct people; this sign was the 
circumcision of every son who 
should be born in the family of 
Abraham. 


"Were the children of Ishmael to 
possess the land of Canaan? No; 
Ishmael was not the promised seed 
who should inherit Canaan; but 
God told Abraham, that Sarah 
should have a son who should be 
called Isaac, and that He would 
make with him, and with his chil¬ 
dren, an everlasting covenant ? 
What is a covenant? An agree¬ 
ment and promise between two 
parties. The promise which God 
made to Noah, never to drown the 
world again, was a covenant; and 
the sign of it was the rainbow. 
And now, the promise God made 
to Abraham, to bless his seed, and 
to give them the land of CanaaUj 









34 


THE ANGELS’ VISIT. 


was a covenant; and the sign of it 
was circumcision. And God had 
made another covenant with Adam 
in the garden of Eden, when He 
promised that Jesus Christ should 
come into the world, and die to save 


sinners. This was the greatest cove¬ 
nant of all. And we know that 
every one of God’s covenants is 
true, because made by Him who 
cannot lie, and who will never de¬ 
ceive His people. 


cCCO 


X. 


y H E Ji N G 

day, Abraham was sit- 
g at his tent door, and 
looked up, and saw 
•ee men standing by 
n. Then he rose up 
directly, and bowed respectfully to 
them, and asked, “Let now water 
be fetched and wash your feet, and 
rest under the tree, and I will bring 
you food.” So the men sat down, 
and Abraham ran into the tent, to 
his wife Sarah, and told her to make 
cakes very quickly; then he ran to 
the field, and took a calf, and killed 
it, and dressed it; and he brought 
the calf, and the cakes, and butter, 
and milk, and gave them to the 
men under the tree; and they did 
eat, and Abraham stood and waited 
upon them. He was right to be 
kind and respectful: St. Peter says, 
14 Use hospitality one to another.” 
1 Peter iv. 9. And St. Paul says, 
“ Be not forgetful to entertain 
strangers.” Hebrews xii. 2. 

When the men had finished eat¬ 
ing, they asked, “ Where is Sarah ? ” 
And Abraham said, “ She is in the 
tent.” Then the Lord told Abra¬ 
ham, He would soon give to him 
and Sarah a son; for God had not 
forgotten his promise made to Abra¬ 
ham so many years before. Sarah 
heard the Lord speak, but she did 


ELS’ yiSIT. 

not believe what He said, and she 
laughed and thought it could not 
be true. Then the Lord said, 
“ Why did Sarah laugh ? Is any¬ 
thing too hard for the Lord ? Sarah 
shall have a son.” Sarah was 
afraid, and denied, and said, “I 
laughed not;” but He said, “Nay, 
but thou didst laugh.” So the men 
went away, and Abraham went with 
them towards Sodom. And then 
the Lord told Abraham, that He 
was angry with those two wicked 
cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, and 
was come now to destroy them. 

Abraham thought of his nephew 
Lot, who was still in Sodom, and he 
felt afraid, and very sorry for him. 
So he asked the Lord to spare the 
city if fifty righteous people were 
there; and the Lord said He would. 
But soon, Abraham thought, that 
Sodom was so very wicked, that 
perhaps there were not fifty there 
who loved God ; and he prayed the 
Lord again, five times, if there were 
forty-five, or forty, or thirty, or 
twenty, or only ten righteous peo¬ 
ple in Sodom, to save the city. And 
the Lord said, “ If I find in Sodom 
ten righteous, I will not destroy it.” 
Then the Lord went away, and 
Abraham returned unto his place. 

It was right and kind of Abraham 








SODOM DESTROYED. 


35 


to pray for Lot. We should all 
remember our friends in prayer, 
and ask God to take care of them. 
And when they are unhappy, or in 
danger, we should particularly pray 


God to comfort them, and to keep 
them from evil. “Pray one for an¬ 
other. The effectual fervent prayer 
of a righteous man availeth much.” 
James v. 16. 


p O D O M JJ 

T was evening when the 
two angels came to Sod¬ 
om. Did they find there 
ten righteous people ? No; 
there were not ten right¬ 
eous in Sodom; and therefore it 
could not be saved. But the Lord 
remembered Abraham’s prayer: and 
He remembered righteous Lot, who 
loved God all alone in the wicked 
city, and sent the angels to save him. 

Lot was sitting in the gate of 
Sodom; and when he saw the an¬ 
gels, he rose and bowed respect¬ 
fully, and brought them to his 
house, and gave them food. Then 
they said, “ Whatsoever thou hast in 
the city, bring out; for we will de¬ 
stroy this place.” So Lot went out, 
and spoke to his sons-in-law, and 
said, “ Get you out of this place, 
for the Lord will destroy this city.” 
But they would not believe what he 
said. And when the morning was 
come, the angels hastened Lot, and 
said, “ Arise, take thy wife and thy 
two daughters which are here;” 
and while he lingered; the men laid 
hold upon his hand, and upon the 
hand of his wife, and upon the 
hand of his two daughters, the 
Lord being merciful unto him, and 


XI. 

ESTROYED. 

they brought him forth. Then they 
said, “Escape for thy life to the 
mountain; stay not; look not be¬ 
hind thee.” But Lot said, “ I can 
not escape to the mountain, lest 
some evil take me. There is a little 
city near to flee unto, let me escape 
thither.” And God mercifully al¬ 
lowed Lot to go to that little city. 
It was called Zoar. 

So Lot, and his wife, and his two 
daughters, escaped from Sodom; 
and then “the Lord rained upon 
Sodom and Gomorrah, brimstone 
and fire from the Lord out of hea¬ 
ven.” All the cities were destroyed; 
all the people died. Lot was saved, 
with his two daughters; but “ his 
wife looked back from behind him, 
and she became a pillar of salt.” 

In the morning, Abraham rose 
very early, and went to look toward 
Sodom. No beautiful city was there 
now; it was all black with smoke; 
the houses destroyed; the people 
killed. But God had remembered 
Abraham’s prayer for Lot, and kept 
him safely. But Lot had no house 
to live in; no riches, no possessions: 
he lived in a cave, with his two 
daughters, and was thankM to bo 
even there. 










96 


ISAAC. 


XII. 

S A A C . 


OON after this, Isaac, the 
child of promise, was born. 
Ishmael, the son of Ha- 
gar, was now almost groAvn 
up, and he behaved very 
an kindly to his little brother Isaac, 
mocking him in his play. This 
fras very wrong, and it grieved and 
displeased Abraham and Sarah; 
and Sarah said, “ Cast out the bond- 
woman and her son.” And God 
commanded Abraham to do this; 
so he rose in the morning, and 
called Hagar, and gave her a bot¬ 
tle of water, and bread, and her 
son Ishmael, and sent them both 
away: they went into the wilder¬ 
ness of Beersheba. The water in 
the bottle was soon spent; it was 
very hot, and Ishmael fainted, and 
his mother cast him under a bush, 
and she sat by herself and wept. 
But God heard Ishmael cry, and an 
angel called to Hagar from heaven, 
and said, “Hagar, fear not; God 
hath heard the voice of the lad 
where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, 
and hold him in thy hand.” Then 
God showed Hagar “ a well of wa¬ 
ter; and she went, and filled her 
bottle with water, and gave the lad 
Irink.” And God was with Ish¬ 
mael, and made him well, and he 
grew up, and lived in the wilderness. 
Afterwards, he had many children, 
and they became a great people, as 
the angel had foretold. 

God can take care of us wherever 
we are; He can keep us when we 
are ill, and make us well and strong 
again. When we are in sorrow, we 
fhould pray to God, and He will 


hear us; and if we have done wrong, 
like Hagar and Ishmael, we must 
pray for pardon, and ask to be made 
humble, and gentle, and holy. All 
our hearts are full of anger, and 
disobedience, and pride; but God 
will give us the Holy Spirit, if we 
ask him, to make us gentle, and 
obedient, and humble. 

After Hagar and Ishmael were 
gone away, God called to Abraham, 
and said, “ Take now thy son, thine 
only son Isaac, and offer him for a 
burnt-offering, upon a mountain 
which I will show thee.” Hid God 
wish to make Abraham unhappy, 
and to kill his son ? No, God only 
wished to try Abraham’s faith; to 
see if Abraham would be obedient, 
and if he loved God more than his 
dear child. Abraham obeyed di¬ 
rectly ; for he knew God’s command 
must be right, and he believed that 
God had power even to raise Isaac 
to life again after he was dead. All 
God does is good and right. When 
He sends us pain, or sickness, or 
sorrow, He does it wisely, for good, 
not for evil; we cannot know why, 
but God knows; let us ask Him to 
make us as obedient to his will as 
Abraham was. 

Abraham arose in the morning, 
and saddled his ass, and took two 
servants with him, and Isaac, and 
wood for the burnt-offering, and 
went to the place God showed 
him. As they walked along, and 
Abraham thought what he was to 
do to his dear son, his good, obe¬ 
dient child, he must have felt very 
sad; but Abraham loved God more 





ISAAC’S FAMILY. 


37 


than he loved Isaac; and God gave 
him strength willingly to obey 
His command. After three days, 
they saw afar off the mountain 
where Isaac was to be offered. Then 
Abraham said to his servants, “Stay 
here with the ass; and I and the 
lad will go yonder, and worship, 
and come again to you.” So the 
servants stayed, and Abraham and 
his son went towards the mountain. 

As they walked along, Isaac said, 
“ My father, behold the fire and the 
wood, but where is the lamb for a 
burnt-offering ? ” For Isaac did not 
yet know that he was to be the 
lamb. Abraham said, “God will 
provide a lamb, my son.” So they 
went on, and came to the place 
of which God had told Abraham. 
And then, Abraham built the altar, 
and put the wood upon it, and 
bound Isaac, and laid him upon the 
altar, and took the knife to slay his 
son. But the angel of the Lord 
called unto Abraham, out of hea¬ 
ven, and said, “ Lay not thy hand 


upon the lad; for now I know that 
thou fearest God, because thou hast 
not withheld thy son, thine only 
son, from him.” Then Abraham 
looked, and saw a ram, caught in 
a bush by the horns, and he offered 
the ram for a burnt-offering, instead 
of Isaac. And the angel called 
again to Abraham, and said, “Be¬ 
cause thou hast done this thing, 
blessing, I will bless thee, and mul¬ 
tiplying, I will multiply thee; and 
all nations shall be blessed in thy 
seed.” 

The Lord Jesus Christ was the 
seed of Abraham, who came to save 
sinners, to be a blessing to all people. 
“ God so loved the world, that He 
sent His only begotten Son, that 
whosoever believeth in Him should 
not perish, but have eternal life.” 
John iii. 17. Abraham gave his 
son to God; God gave His Son for 
us; “the Father sent the Son to 
be the Saviour of the world.” 1 
John iv. 14. 


XIII. 


|s AAC’S 

ARAH was now 127 years 
old, and she died in He¬ 
bron, and Abraham and 
Isaac wept for her. Abra¬ 
ham bought the field of 
Machpelah, where there was a cave, 
for a burying-place; and there he 
laid the body of Sarah. But Sa¬ 
rah’s soul did not die; it went to 
heaven, to be with God for ever. It 
is very sad to see our dear friends 
die, and to see their bodies put into 
the coffinj and laid in the tomb; 


fA MILY, 

but if they loved God, as we may 
believe Sarah did, then we know 
their souls are gone to heaven, to 
be safe and happy there; and if we 
too love God, we shall go to meet 
them when we die, and never part 
from them again. This thought 
comforted Abraham. 

Abraham had a good and faith¬ 
ful servant named Eliezer, who had 
lived with him, and Sarah, and Isaac, 
many years. Abraham called Elie¬ 
zer, and said, “ Go now to Mesopo- 









38 


ISAAC’S FAMILY. 


tamia, where I used to live, and find 
there a wife for my son Isaac, and 
bring her here.” Abraham did not 
wish his son to marry one of the 
women of Canaan, because they 
wers idolators. Eliezer obeyed; he 
took ten of his master’s camels, and 
went away to Mesopotamia. When 
he came there, it was evening; and 
he was tired, and sat down by a 
well. 

He did not know the people who 
lived there, nor whom to choose 
for a wife for Isaac; but he prayed 
to God to direct him, and God heard 
his prayer. He soon saw a young 
woman coming to the well; she 
carried a pitcher, and she went, and 
filled her pitcher with water out of 
the well. The servant asked her to 
give him some water; and she was 
very kind, and gave him the pitcher, 
and then she gave water to the 
camels. Eliezer had asked God to 
show him, by this sign, the wife 
whom he was to take for Isaac, and 
now he felt quite sure that this was 
the right person; so he took two 
bracelets, and put them upon her 
hand, and gave her a gold ear-ring, 
and asked, “Whose daughter art 
thou ? ” She told him her name was 
Rebekah, and her father was Be¬ 
th uel, a relation of Abraham. Then 
Eliezer went home, and staid with 
Bethuel and his family. And he 
asked if Rebekah might go to He¬ 
bron, and marry Isaac; and they 
were willing she should go, for they 
believed it was God’s will. So Re¬ 
bekah left her father, and mother, 
and brothers, and sisters; and went 
with her nurse and her maids, upon 
camels, with Eliezer, to Hebron. 
And then Eliezer told Isaac all 
about Rebekah; and how God had 
answered his prayer; and Isaac 


loved her, and she became his wife; 
and God blessed them. 

Abraham was now a very old man, 
175 years old. He died, and his 
sons Isaac and Ishmael laid his body 
by Sarah, in the cave in the field of 
Machpelah, and his happy soul 
went to God, whom he loved. 

God gave two sons to Isaac and 
Rebekah. Their names were Esau 
and Jacob. When they grew up, 
Esau was fond of hunting in the 
field, but Jacob was very quiet, and 
liked to stay in his tent. One day, 
when Esau had been hunting, he 
came home very hot, and tired, and 
hungry. Jacob was eating pottage 
in the tent, and his brother said to 
him, “Give me pottage, for I am 
faint.” Jacob said, “Sell me thy 
birthright;” and Esau sold his 
birthright for the pottage, and Ja¬ 
cob gave him the food he wanted, 
and Esau went away. But God 
was not pleased with Esau: he had 
done what was wrong. He was the 
eldest son of his father, and it was 
his privilege and duty to offer sacri¬ 
fices, as a priest in his family; this 
was his birthright. But Esau did 
not love holy things; he did not 
believe in Jesus, who should come 
and be a sacrifice to take away the 
sin of the world. He thought Ja¬ 
cob might attend to these things, 
but he cared only for the pottage; 
and for that he was willing to lose 
his birthright. 

It is very sad, and very wicked, 
to despise holy things, as Esau did; 
to care more for our bodies than 
our souls; to think more about 
what we shall eat and drink, than 
about what w r e must do to be 
saved. Jesus says, “Seek first the 
kingdom of God and his right¬ 
eousness.” Matthew vi. 33. 




REBECCA MEETS ISAAC BY THE WAY 















JACOB AND ESAU. 


39 


Jacob was a better man than 
Esau. But it was not right of him 
to take away Esau’s birthright, 
when his brother was hungry, and 
asked for bread. We ought to be 
glad to give away what we have, 
and not wish to be paid for being 
kind. 

Isaac loved Esau, because he ate 
of his venison, but Rebekah loved 
Jacob. Isaac was now a very old 


man: he could not see; his eyes 
were dim with age. But God was 
with Isaac; He did not forget him. 
God will keep His people all their 
lives; when they are young, and 
when they grow old; and when 
they die, He will be with them, and 
bring them safely to heaven. He 
says, “ I wil 1 never leave thee, nor 
forsake thee.” Hebrews xiii. 5. 


«oco> 


XIV. 


/ 


AC O B 


AND 


¥ 


S AU. 



SAAC felt he must now 
soon die, and he called 
Esau, and said to him, 
“Go now, and bring me 
savoury meat, that I may 
eat it, and bless thee, before I die.” 
Esau obeyed; he took his bow and 
his arrow, and went into the field 
to hunt for venison. When Rebek¬ 
ah heard Isaac speak to Esau, she 
was not pleased, because she wished 
Isaac to bless Jacob, for God had 
said Jacob should be greater than 
Esau. So she called Jacob, and 
said, “Esau is now gone to hunt 
for venison, that his father may eat 
and bless him. Now obey me, and 
go, and kill two kids, and I will 
make savoury meat, and thou shalt 
bring it to thy father, that he may 
eat, and bless thee.” But Jacob 
said, “ I know my father cannot see, 
but he can feel. Esau is a hairy 
man, and I am a smooth man; and 
if my father feel me, he will know 
I am Jacob, and not Esau, and I shall 
seem to him a deceiver, and bring a 
curse upon me, and not a blessing.” 
But Rebekah told Jacob to go and 


bring the kids quickly, and he 
obeyed, and went. It is right for 
children to obey their parents when 
the parents tell them to do right, 
but not when they tell them to do 
wrong. We must obey God more 
than man, or woman, or father, or 
mother. Jacob knew it was wicked 
to try to deceive his blind father, 
and he ought to have told his 
mother so respectfully and meekly. 
Jacob and his mother both dis¬ 
pleased God then. 

Rebekah took the kids which 
Jacob brought, and made savoury 
meat, such as his father loved, and 
then she took Esau’s clothes, and 
put them upon Jacob; and she put 
the hairy skins of the kids upon 
his neck and hands, that he might 
feel rough like Esau, and sent him 
with the meat to his father. So 
Jacob came in, and said, “My 
father, here is the venison; rise* 
eat, and bless me.” But Isaac ask¬ 
ed, “How didst thou find it so 
quickly, my son?” Then Jacob 
said, “ Because the Lord brought it 
to me.” Isaac told his son to come 









40 


JACOB AND ESATT. 


Bear to him: and he felt him, and 
asked, “Art thou my yery son 
Esau? The voice is like Jacob’s 
voice, but the hands are the hands 
of Esau ? ” Then Jacob again said, 
“Yes, I am Esau, thy eldest son, 
Esau.” Isaac now believed him, 
and he called him near, and ate the 
meat, and drank the wine which 
Jacob gave him. Then he blessed 
and kissed his deceitful son, and 
told him what should happen in a 
future time; for God taught Isaac 
to prophesy. He said, “ The Lord 
bless thee, and give thee plenty of 
corn and wine; let people serve 
thee, and be lord over thy breth¬ 
ren.” All this was fulfilled, when 
the Israelites, Jacob’s children, af¬ 
terwards possessed the fruitful land 
of Oaanan, and became a powerful 
people. 

Isaac finished blessing Jacob, and 
Jacob went away. Esau was now 
come home, and he brought the 
venison to Isaac; for he did not 
know what his brother had done. 
When Esau asked his father to 
bless him, Isaac wondered very 
much, and said, “ Who art thou ? ” 
and Esau answered, “I am thine 
eldest son, Esau.” Then Isaac 
trembled, and asked again, “ Who ? 
Who was he that came, and brought 
me venison, and I ate, and blessed 
him before thou earnest? yes, and 
he shall be blessed.” When Esau 
heard this, he cried and said, “ 0 
bless me, even me, also, my father ; ” 
and Esau wept. But Isaac told 
him, that though God would give 
Esau many blessings, yet Jacob 
would be greater than he ; and this 
made Esau very angry, and he 
thought, “ My father will die soon, 
fmd then I will slay my brother 


Jacob.” When Rebekah knew that 
Esau hated Jacob, and wished tos 
kill him, she called her younger son 
and said, “ Go now to Haran, where 
my brother Laban lives, thy uncle; 
and stay there a few days, till Esau’s 
anger is turned away, and then I 
will send and fetch thee.” So 
Isaac and Rebekah blessed Jacob, 
and prayed God to keep him safely, 
and sent him away to Padan- 
aram. 

It was night. Jacob was weary, 
and he laid down on the cold ground 
and put hard stones under his head 
for a pillow, and soon fell asleep. 
And God gave him a beautiful 
dream when he was asleep. He saw 
a ladder set on the earth, and its 
top reached to heaven, and holy an¬ 
gels were going up and down upon 
it. Above it stood the Lord, and 
He spoke to Jacob. He said, “ I 
am the God of Abraham, and the 
God of Isaac. I will give the land 
where thou liest, to thy children, 
for a possession.” And then the 
Lord told Jacob, that a Savioui 
should come into the world, who 
would be blessing to all people, 
and He said, “ I am with thee, and 
will keep thee in all places, and 
bring thee again into this land.” 
How thankful Jacob was to hear 
the Lord speak to him so kindly, 
when he had been so forgetful, and 
so unthankful to God! God’s eye 
is always upon us, when we sleep, 
and when we wake. He always 
remembers us, though we very of¬ 
ten forget Him, as Jacob did. Let 
us think of Him, and love Him 
more. 

When Jacob awoke, he said, 
“ God is in this place, and I knew 
it not; ” and he was afraid and 



JACOB WITH LABAN”. 


41 


said, “ How dreadful is this place! 
This is the house of God, and the 
gate of Heaven!” Then he took the 
stone, and set it up for a pillar, and 
poured oil upon it, for he wished 


the place to he remembered as holy 
ground; and he called the name of 
it Bethel, or the house of God, be« 
cause God appeared to him there. 


XV. 




A C O B 


WITH 


h 


A B A N , 


3FORE Jacob went away 
from Bethel, he prayed to 
God, and asked him to 
keep him, and be with 
him, wherever he went; 
and to give him bread to eat, and 
clothes to put on; and to bring 
him again to his father’s house. 
And then, Jacob said, “The Lord 
shall be my God.” He felt now, 
that God alone could make him 
happy, and he really wished to love 
and obey God with all his heart. 
Jacob must have been very sorry for 
nis past sins, his wicked lies and 
deceit; and he prayed for the par¬ 
don of them all; but when God 
had forgiven him, and blessed him, 
then Jacob was happy. Jacob went 
on, and came to Padan-aram. He 
saw a field, and a well, and flocks of 
sheep, and shepherds by it. The 
shepherds rolled away the stone 
from the well’s mouth, and watered 
the sheep, and put the stone back 
again, to keep the water safely. 
Then Jacob asked the men, “Do 
you know Laban ? Is he well ?” 
And they said, “ Yes, we know him: 
be is weil, and his daughter Rachel 
<s coming with the sheep.” Rachel 
was a cousin of Jacob’s, and he was 
very glad to see her, and told her 
his name. And Jacob wept when 
be saw her. Rachel told her father 


Laban, that Jacob was come; and 
Laban went to meet him, and 
brought him home, and asked him 
to stay in his house. Jacob lived 
many years with Laban, and kept 
his sheep; and, after some time, he 
married his cousin Rachel, whom 
he loved very much. And God 
blessed Jacob and gave him many 
children, and great possessions of 
sheep, and oxen, and goats, and 
camels. But when Laban saw that 
Jacob had more cattle than he had, 
he was angry and jealous, and 
looked unkindly at Jacob. But God 
would not let Laban do anything to 
hurt Jacob, for He remembered 
His promise at Bethel, “ I will be 
with thee.” And so God told Ja¬ 
cob to go away from Laban, and to 
return to Canaan. Then Jacob called 
his family, and put them upon 
camels, and took all his cattle, and 
his possessions, and went away se¬ 
cretly. Three days after, Laban 
heard that he was gone, and he ran 
after Jacob, and overtook him in 
Mount Gilead. But in the night, 
God came to Laban, and told him 
not to hurt Jacob. So they made a 
covenant, and promised to be kind 
one to the other, and then they 
parted. “In the morning Laban 
rose up, and kissed his sons and his 
daughters, and blessed them; and 










42 


JACOB WITH LABAN. 


Laban departed, and returned unto 
his place.” 

When Laban was gone, Jacob 
went on towards Canaan, and as he 
went, he saw some angels coming to 
meet him. They were sent by God 
to comfort Jacob, and to tell him 
that God was there, to bless and 
keep him. Jacob and his family 
were now near Seir, where his 
brother Esau lived. So Jacob sent 
servants before, to tell Esau, that 
he had lived many years with Laban, 
and was now coming home, and 
that he was very rich, and had 
many oxen, and asses, and camels, 
and servants, and he very humbly 
begged Esau to be kind and friend¬ 
ly to him. But when the servants 
came back to Jacob, they said, 
“ Esau is coming to meet thee, and 
400 men with him.” Then Jacob 
was very much afraid, for he 
thought, that perhaps Esau was 
still angry with him, and was com¬ 
ing to kill him and all his family* 
So he divided the people who were 
with him, and prepared to meet 
Esau. He took goats, and sheep, 
and oxen, and camels, and told a 
servant to stand by them, and to 
say, when Esau came, “ Thy servant 
Jacob gives these to my lord Esau.” 
It was very right of Jacob to be¬ 
have humbly to Esau, and very 
wise of him too, thus to try to sub¬ 
due Esau’s anger by kindness. But 
after all, Jacob knew he had no 
power to help and save himself; 
only God could save him, so he 


went and prayed to Him. And 
when we are sorry and afraid, we 
should do the same, and God prom¬ 
ises to hear us; He says, “ Call 
upon me in the time of trouble, and 
I will deliver thee.” Ps. 1.15. 

God heard Jacob’s prayer. In 
the night, when Jacob was alone, a 
man came to him, and wrestled 
with him. Jacob knew who he was, 
and he asked for a blessing from 
him. And the Lord blessed Jacob, 
and gave him the new name of Israel, 
which means a prince with God. 
And Jacob called the place, Peniel, 
or the face of God, because he had 
there seen God face to face. Jacob 
felt now peaceful and happy, and 
when he saw Esau coming, he had 
no fear. He went to meet him, and 
bowed to the ground seven times. 
And he had now no need to fear: 
for God had subdued Esau’s anger, 
in answer to Jacob’s prayer. “ Esau 
ran, and fell on Jacob’s neck, and 
kissed him.” They both wept; for 
they thought of their past hatred, 
and unkindness to one another; but 
now they wished to live in peace 
and brotherly love. Jacob’s family 
all came, and bowed respectfully to 
Esau; and Jacob gave Esau the 
camels, and goats, and oxen. Esau 
refused to take them at first, but 
Jacob urged him, so he took them. 
This was a happy end to all their 
anger and disputings. Let us learn 
from it “ how good and how pleas¬ 
ant it is, for brethren to dwell 
together in unity.” Ps. cxxxiii. 1. 





JACOB AT BETHEL. 


43 


XVI. 


i 


A C O B 


A T 




ETHEL. 



ITT Esau and Jacob could 
not stay long together. 
Jacob went on his jour¬ 
ney, and Esau returned 
to Seir. They parted 
very affectionately; and then Jacob 
went to Shechem, and staid there. 
And now Jacob had new troubles. 
His family soon forgot God, and be¬ 
gan to worship idols; and his sons 
were disobedient, and passionate, 
and cruel. But God said to Jacob, 
“ Go now to Bethel, and make an al¬ 
tar there unto God.” It was at Bethel 
that Jacob saw the ladder, many 
years before, when God promised to 
keep him, and to be with him 
wherever he went; and God had 
not forgotten His promise, though 
Jacob had forgotten Bethel. God 
always remembers His people, but 
they are often ungrateful, and do 
not remember Him. 

Jacob obeyed God directly. He 
told his family to bring to him all 
their foolish idols; and he talked 
to them about God, and told them 
they must not again make Him an¬ 
gry, by worshipping gods which 
could not help or save them; and 
he took away these idols, and hid 
them under a tree in Shechem. 
Then they all went to Bethel; and 
there Jacob built an altar, and 
praised his God who had taken care 
of him so many years. God came 
to Jacob, and blessed him in Bethel. 
He called him by his new name, 
Israel; and told him again, that his 
children after him should possess 
the land of Canaan. 

Soon after this, death came into 


Jacob’s family. First, Deborah 
died, Rebekah’s nurse, and was 
buried under an oak at Bethel. 
And then, when they came to 
Ephrath, Rachel too died, and was 
buried there. The body was laid in 
the tomb; and Jacob set a pillar 
upon her grave; but her soul went 
to Heaven, where is no more death, 
nor sorrow, nor pain. She left 
a babe named Benjamin. Chil¬ 
dren who lose their parents and 
friends, will have God for their 
Father, if they ask Him to take 
care of them; and He will never 
leave them; when their father and 
mother forsake them, then the Lord 
will take them up. Ps. xxvii. 10 
Jacob and his family went on 
now to Hebron, where Abraham 
and Isaac had lived so many years, 
Jacob’s old home. Were his father 
and mother there now? Hot Re- 
bekah, she was dead; Jacob never 
saw his mother again. But Isaac 
was alive; he was now 180 years 
old. Jacob was glad to see his 
father once more, and to have his 
forgiveness, and his blessing; and 
Isaac must have rejoiced to know, 
that Jacob was now a better man; 
that he loved God with all his heart, 
and that his past sins had been re¬ 
pented of, and forgiven. Isaac soon 
after died, and his happy soul went 
to Heaven. Then Esau came to 
see Isaac for the last time; and he 
and Jacob wept together over their 
father and buried him. Esau and 
Jacob loved one another now; but 
they could not live together, be¬ 
cause, like Abraham and Lot, they 






44 


JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 


were both very rich, and there was 
not room for all their cattle. So Esan 
went again to Mount Seir, or Edom, 
where he lived like a king, and had 
great possessions, and became very 
powerful. But Jacob staid in 
Canaan, where his fathers Abraham 
and Isaac had lived, in the land 
which God had promised to give to 
them, and to their children. 

If God is pleased to give us riches 
and possessions in this world, we 
must be thankful for them, and use 
them to His glory. If we have 
money, we ought to be glad to give 
to the poor, and not to keep all for 
ourselves. But if God makes us 
poor, then we must not murmur, 
nor be discontented; we must not 
wish for more, nor covet the posses¬ 
sions of the rich. And whether 
rich or poor, we should ask God 


to give us a possession above, in 
Heaven. 

Jacob was now an old man: he 
had known much sorrow in past 
years; Esau’s hatred; Laban’s un¬ 
kindness ; his fear that his brother 
would come and hurt him; his long 
journeys far from his home and pa¬ 
rents; the death of his wife, and 
his father; Jacob remembered all 
these troubles. But then he re¬ 
membered, too, how merciful God 
had been to him; how he had kept 
him all his life; and delivered 
him from all evil: and Jacob felt 
he could love God, and trust Him 
for ever. God will not forget His 
people, even when they are old and 
helpless. He says, “ To hoar hairs 
will I carry you I have made, and 
I will bear; I will carry, and will 
deliver you.” Isaiah xlvi. 4. 


XVII. 


/ 


O S E P H 


AND HIS 




R E T H R E N . 


ACOB had twelve sons:— 
Keuben, Simeon, Levi, 
Judah, Dan, Xaphtali, 
Gad, Asher, Issachar, and 
Zebulon, who were grown 
up ; Joseph, who was seventeen 
years old, and little Benjamin. The 
ten. eldest were wicked men, but 
Joseph feared God: and Jacob loved 
him more than the others, and he 
gave him a coat of many colors. 
The ten brothers were jealous, when 
they saw their father loved Joseph 
so much, and they hated Joseph, 
and were very unkind to him. But 
God was with Joseph, to love and 
keep him. 

One night, God sent a wonderful 


dream to Joseph. He thought he 
was binding sheaves of corn in the 
field with his brothers; and the 
sheaves of his brothers arose, and 
stood up, and bowed before Joseph’s 
sheaf. God told Joseph, by this 
dream, that his brothers should 
obey him, and that he should rule 
over them; but they laughed, and 
were very angry, when he told them 
his dream. Soon after, he dreamed 
again, and saw the sun, and moon, 
and eleven stars bow before him. 
Joseph told his dream to his father, 
and his brothers: Jacob understood 
the meaning of the dream, and 
thought much about it; but the 
brothers only envied him still more. 








JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 


45 


Jacob’s sons were shepherds, and 
took care of their father’s flocks: 
and the older ten went to feed the 
sheep in Shechem; but Joseph and 
little Benjamin were with Jacob. 
One day, Israel called Joseph, and 
said, “ Go now, and see if thy breth¬ 
ren are well, and if the flocks are 
well, and bring me word again.” So 
Joseph went away from Hebron, 
and came to Shechem; but his 
brothers were not there, and he was 
told that they were gone to Dothan. 
Then Joseph went on to Dothan, 
and there he found them. And 
now some of these wicked men said, 
when they saw him afar off, “ Here 
comes the dreamer; now let us slay 
him, and cast him into a pit, and 
say an evil beast has devoured him; 
and we shall see what will become 
of his dreams.” But Reuben said, 
“ Let us not kill him, but cast him 
into this pit; ” for Reuben was less 
cruel, and thought he could then 
take him out, and bring him home 
safely to his father. So when Joseph 
came to them, his cruel brothers 
seized him, and tore off his coat of 
many colors, and threw him into the 
pit; the pit was empty, there was 
no water in it; and then they sat 
down, and ate bread. 

While these wicked, cruel brothers 
were eating, they looked up, and 
saw a great many people coming 
towards them. The people were 
Ishmaelites, children of Ishmael, 
the son of Hagar. They came from 


Gilead; and they had camels, which 
carried the spices they were going 
to take into Egypt. When Judah 
saw the Ishmaelites, he persuaded 
his brothers to sell Joseph to them, 
for Judah loved money; so Joseph 
was taken out of the pit, and sold 
for twenty pieces of silver; and the 
Ishmaelites took him, and brought 
him to Egypt, and there they sold 
him again to a man named Poti- 
phar: Reuben was not with his 
brothers when Joseph was sold; and 
when he came back to the pit, and 
did not find him, he rent his clothes, 
and ran to his brothers, and said, 
“ The child is not; and I, whither 
shall I go ? ” But they cared noth¬ 
ing for Reuben’s sorrow. They 
killed a kid, and dipped Joseph’s 
coat of many colors in the blood; 
and then they went home, and 
showed the coat to their father, and 
said, “ This have we found; know 
now if it be thy son’s coat or not.” 
Jacob remembered the coat directly; 
and he said, “ It is my son’s coat; 
an evil beast hath devoured him; 
Joseph is, without doubt, rent in 
pieces.” And then Jacob wept, and 
rent his clothes, and refused to be 
comforted. We read that, many 
years before, Jacob deceived his 
father Isaac; now Jacob’s children 
deceived him. God does not forget 
sin; He had forgiven Jacob; biff 
Jacob suffered for his wicked deceff 
all his life, to teach him what ai 
evil thing sin is! 





46 


JOSEPH IH PRISON. 


XVIII. 


/ 


OSEPH 


I N 


Y R I S O N . 


OSEPH was a good and 
industrious servant to 
Potiphar; he was not 
idle nor deceitful, nor 
disrespectful, nor dishon¬ 
est ; and he was very careful of his 
master’s things; and God blessed 
him, and made him a blessing to 
Potiphar, and all his family. 

Potiphar’s wife was a very wicked 
woman; she hated Joseph, and 
told her husband many things 
about him that were not true ; and 
asked his master to punish him. 
Potiphar believed all she said, and 
commanded Joseph to be put into 
prison. Potiphar did not know 
that Joseph had not done wrong; 
but God knew all the truth, for He 
cannot be deceived. 

Joseph went to prison; but God 
was with him there. He can keep 
His people wherever they are, and 
comfort them in all their sorrows; 
and He blessed Joseph, and made 
the keeper of the prison love him. 
Joseph took care of every thing in 
the prison, and of all the prisoners; 
and he was so kind and gentle, that 
they loved him, and told him all 
their sorrows. 

While Joseph was in prison, the 
chief butler and the chief baker 
of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, offended 
their master, and he sent them both 
to prison. One morning, when Jo¬ 
seph came in to see them, he found 
them looking sad and unhappy, and 
he asked, “ Why look ye so sadly to¬ 
day ? ” They said, “We have dream¬ 
ed dreams; and we have no one to 
interpret them to us. 5 ’ Joseph 


answered, “ God sends dreams ; He 
only knows the interpretation ; tell 
me your dreams, I pray you.” Then 
the butler told his dream, and said, 
“ I saw in my dream a vine, and in 
the vine three branches; and they 
budded, and the flowers came, and 
the fruit ripened; and I took Pha¬ 
raoh’s cup, and gathered the grapes, 
and pressed them into the cup, and 
gave it to Pharaoh.” Then Joseph 
said, “ The three branches are three 
days. In three days Pharaoh will 
restore thee to thy place, and thou 
shalt give the cup into his hand.” 
And then Joseph said, “ Do not for¬ 
get me when it shall be well with 
thee; speak for me to Pharaoh, and 
bring me out of prison. For I was 
stolen away from Canaan, and 
brought to Egypt, and I have done 
nothing that they should put me 
into this dungeon.” Then the ba¬ 
ker told his dream and said, “ I had 
three baskets upon my head; they 
were full of baked meats for Pha¬ 
raoh ; and the birds came, and eat 
the meat out of the baskets on my 
head.” Joseph answered, “ The 
three baskets are three days. In 
three days, Pharaoh will hang thee 
upon a tree, and the birds shall eat 
thy flesh from off thee.” 

All happened as Joseph said, for 
God had given him wisdom and 
power to interpret the dreams right¬ 
ly. In three days was Pharaoh’s 
birthday, and he made a feast for 
all his servants, and called the but¬ 
ler and baker out of prison. He 
forgave the butler, and restored him 
to his place, and he gave the cup 






JOSEPH INTERPRETS PHARAOH’S DREAMS. 











pharaoh's dreams. 


47 


into Pharaoh’s hand; but the baker 
was hanged, as Joseph said. 

Did the butler remember Joseph, 
and ask the king to take him out 
of prison ? No: he quite forgot 
him: when he was happy and safe 


himself, he thought no more about 
Joseph. But God always remem¬ 
bers us; He says to every one who 
serves him, “ They may forget, but 
I will not forget thee.” Isaiah 
xlix. 15. 


<030o. 


XIX. 


^haraoh’s 

WO years after the butler 
came out of prison, Pha¬ 
raoh king of Egypt had 
two wonderful dreams. 
He thought he stood by 
the river, and saw seven fat kine 
come out of it, and feed in a mea¬ 
dow. Soon after he saw seven other 
kine come out, very thin and bad; 
and they ate up the seven fat ones. 
So Pharaoh awoke. Then he slept 
again, and dreamed; and he saw 
seven fine good ears of corn come 
up upon one stem; and soon after, 
seven ears more, very bad and thin; 
and the bad ears devoured the seven 
good ears; and the king awoke. In 
the morning, Pharaoh wondered 
what these dreams could mean, and 
he called all his wise men, and ask¬ 
ed them to interpret them. But 
they had no heavenly wisdom, and 
God did not enable them to explain 
he dreams He had sent to Pharaoh, 
bit when the butler heard Pharaoh 
i rid the wise men talking together 
about the dreams, he remembered 
his own dream, which he had two 
years before, and which Joseph had 
interpreted so truly; and he went 
to Pharaoh, and said, “ I remember 
to-day my faults long ago, when the 
king was angry, and sent me to 
prison, with the chief baker. We 


REAMS. 

dreamed, in one night, I and he; 
and there was a young man, a He¬ 
brew, in the prison with us; and he 
interpreted our dreams to us; and 
as he interpreted, so it was; I was 
forgiven and the baker was hanged.” 
Then Pharaoh sent, and called for 
Joseph directly. 

Joseph had been a long time in 
the prison; but though the butler 
had forgotten him, his Father in 
Heaven had not forgotten him: 
God was now doing wonderful 
things for Joseph, which he did not 
yet know. Joseph washed, and 
shaved, and took off his prison 
clothes, and put on new, and came 
to Pharaoh. Then the king told 
his dreams, and asked Joseph to in¬ 
terpret them. But Joseph was not 
proud of his wisdom; he knew he 
had no power, no wisdom, in him¬ 
self ; but that ail he had God gave 
to him; and so he said to Pharaoh, 
"It is not in me: God shall give 
Pharaoh an answer of peace.” And 
God taught J oseph rightly to inter¬ 
pret the dreams. He said, “The 
seven fat kine, and the seven good 
ears of corn, are seven years of 
great fruitfulness; and the seven 
thin kine, and the seven bad ears, 
are seven years of famine. Seven 
years are coming of great plenty i* 










48 


Pharaoh’s dreams. 


the land of Egypt; and then seven 
years of famine will begin, when 
there will be no corn. Now let 
Pharaoh look for a wise man, and 
set him over the land; and let him 
gather np the corn in the seven good 
years, and keep it laid up in all the 
cities of Egypt: that when the sev¬ 
en years of famine come, there may 
be food to eat.” Pharaoh was 
pleased with Joseph’s wisdom and 
advice; and he said, Joseph should 
rule over the land, and the people 
should obey him. Then the king 
gave him a ring, and put a chain 
upon his neck, and dressed him in 
fine linen, and made him ride in a 
chariot; and all the people honored 
him. 

During the seven plenteous years, 
Joseph commanded the people to 
gather up the corn, and lay it safely 
in barns and storehouses; and they 
gathered very much corn; so much 
that they could not count it. But 
the seven good years ended, and 
then the seven bad years began. It 
was a sad time. There was no corn 
to reap; all was dry and dead; and 
the poor people cried for food. 

The famine was in Canaan also; 
Jacob and his sons had no bread. 
But the Egyptians came to Joseph, 
and he opened all the storehouses, 
and sold corn to them: and when 
that was gone, they came again, and 
bought more; and Joseph had 
plenty for them all. So when Ja¬ 
cob heard that there was corn in 
Egypt, he sent his ten eldest sons 
to buy some: but Benjamin staid 
witfi his father; for Jacob loved 
him so much, that he did not like 
him to go away. The ten brothers 
went to Egypt, and came and stood 
before Joseph, and bowed to the 


ground. Did they remember Jo¬ 
seph? No: for Joseph was only a 
boy when he went to Egypt; and 
now he was a man thirty-seven 
years old: but Joseph remembered 
his brothers directly, and he re¬ 
membered, too, his dream of the 
sheaves of his brothers bowing down 
to him; how wonderfully that dream 
was now explained! But Joseph 
did not tell his brothers who he was, 
for he wished to try if they were 
still wicked, cruel, deceitful men; 
or if they were sorry for their past 
sins, and had turned to God. So 
he asked, “ Who are you? Whence 
do you come?” They said, "We 
come from Canaan, to buy corn.” 
Then he asked again, " Have you 
more brothers?” They said, "We 
were twelve brothers; but now one 
is not, and the youngest is with his 
father, in the land of Canaan.” But 
Joseph said, "I do not know if you 
tell me the truth or not: I will 
prove you: one of you shall stay 
here a prisoner; and the others shall 
go, and take corn for your families, 
and bring your youngest brother to 
me; then I shall know that you 
are true men.” The brothers were 
much distressed to hear this, and 
Joseph too was distressed to see 
their sorrow; and he turned away 
and wept. Then he hid his tears, 
and took Simeon, and bound him 
before their eyes. 

Joseph did all this not from re¬ 
venge, but to make his brothers 
remember and feel their past sins, 
and their unkindness to him. And 
so they did. They said to one an¬ 
other, "We are verily guilty con¬ 
cerning our brother, because we saw 
the anguish of his soul when he be- 
I sought us, and we would not hear. 




BENJAMIN SENT TO EGYPT. 


48 


therefore is this distress come upon 
us.” Sin, secret sin, will always at 
last be discovered, and punished. 


“Be sure your sin will find you 
out.” Num. xxxii. 23. 


XX. 

^ENJAMIN S E N T TO EgYPT, 


HE nine brothers paid 
Joseph for the corn ; and 
he told his servants to fill 
their sacks, and to give 
them food to eat on the 
road. Then he told the servant to 
put the money they had paid, into 
the sacks again secretly; and the 
brothers laid the sacks upon their 
asses, and went away. When they 
came to the inn, one man opened 
his sack, to give food to his ass, and 
there he saw his money again; and 
when they came home, they all 
found their money put again into 
the sacks; and they wondered very 
much how this could be. Jacob 
was very sorry when he heard that 
Simeon was a prisoner in Egypt, 
and that Benjamin was to go with 
his brothers; and he said, “ My son 
shall not go with you. Me have ye 
bereaved of my children; Joseph is 
not, and Simeon is not; and ye will 
take Benjamin away.” Reuben an¬ 
swered, “Give him to me, I will 
bring him to thee again.” But Ja¬ 
cob would not let him go. 

When all the corn was eaten, and 
Jacob and his sons had no more 
food, Jacob said to his sons, “ Go 
again to Egypt; buy us a little 
food.” But they answered, “We 
must not, we dare not go without 
Benjamin; for the man solemnly 
commanded us to bring him.” Then 
Judah said, “Send the lad with me, 


and we will go. I will be surety for 
him.” Then Jacob remembered, 
that the same gracious God who had 
kept him all his life, had power to 
keep his dear child also; so at last 
he said, “ If it must be so, go; take 
a present for the man; fruit, and 
nuts, and honey, and spices; and 
give him again the money you 
found in your sacks, and take more 
money for the new corn, and go, 
and Benjamin may go with you; 
and God give you mercy before the 
man, that he may send away your 
other brother, and Benjamin.” Then 
they all arose, and took Benjamin, 
and went to Egypt again. 

Jacob was alone now: but still 
God was with him, to keep and 
comfort him. What a blessing it is 
to those who love God, that He is 
always near them; His eye upon 
them ; His hand around them ! He 
can comfort His people in all their 
sorrows, as He comforted Jacob in 
his sorrow. He says, “ I will never 
fail thee, nor forsake thee.” Josh. 
i. 5. 

When Joseph saw Benjamin com¬ 
ing with his brothers, he said to his 
servant, “Bring the men home; 
they shall dine with me to-day.” So 
the servant obeyed, and brought 
them all to Joseph’s house, and 
talked kindly to them, and gave 
them water, and washed their feet, 
and fed their asseij; and Simeon 









50 


BENJAMIN SENT TO EGYPT. 


was sent to them out of prison. 
When Joseph came home, his broth¬ 
ers gave him the presents they had 
brought, and bowed before him; 
but Joseph would not take their 
money. Taen he asked, “Is your 
father well ? ” And they said, “ He 
is well.” Then he asked again, “ Is 
this your youngest brother?” and 
he looked very affectionately at 
Benjamin, and said, “ God be gra¬ 
cious unto thee, my son.” The tears 
were in Joseph’s eyes, but he did not 
wish his brothers to see him weep ; 
he went into his own room, and 
wept there. It was love and thank¬ 
fulness that made him weep. Then 
he washed his face and went to 
them again, and told the servants to 
set on bread. Then they made a 
feast, and Joseph sent messes to all 
his brothers; but Benjamin’s mess 
was five times larger than any of the 
others; and “ they drank and were 
merry with him.” 

When they had finished, Joseph 
said secretly to his servant, “Put 
the men’s corn-money into their 
sacks again ; and take my silver cup, 
and put it into Benjamin’s sack.” 
The servant obeyed; and in the 
morning he sent them all away. 
When they were gone, Joseph told 
his servant to run after the men, 
and accuse them of having stolen 
the cup, the silver cup out of which 
his master drank. The men went 
quickly, and soon overtook the 
brothers, and told them all Joseph 
had said. The brothers wondered 
very much, for they knew they had 
stolen nothing, and they said, “With 
whomsoever the cup is found, let 
him die, and we will be slaves to my 
lord.” So they all took down their 
sacks, and the servant looked, and 


found the cup in Benjamin’s sack, 
where he had put it. Then the 
brothers rent their clothes, and went 
back again to Joseph, and fell down 
before him. And Joseph said, “What 
is this that you have done ? ” Judah 
answered, “ What shall we say ? 
God has found out our iniquity, 
behold, we are my Lord’s servants.” 
But Joseph said, “The man with 
whom the cup was found, he shall 
be my servant; but go you in peace 
to your father.” Then J udah came 
near to Joseph, aud said, “I am 
surety for the lad unto my father: let 
me then abide, instead of the lad, a 
bondman to my lord; and let the 
lad go with his brethren: for how 
shall I go to my father, and the lad 
be not with me ? lest I see the evil 
that shall come on my father.” 
Then Joseph said to the servants, 
“ Go out from me.” And every one 
went away, and Joseph stood alone 
with his brothers. Then he wept 
aloud, and said, “ I am Joseph your 
brother whom ye sold into Egypt: is 
my father yet alive ? ” His brothers 
could not answer, but Joseph spoke 
very gently to them again, and said, 
“ Do not be sorry, nor angry with 
yourselves because you sold me into 
Egypt: for God sent me here to 
preserve life. He has done wonders 
for me, and given me wisdom, to 
lay up corn for the famine, that the 
people may not die. Hasten now, 
and bring my father to me to Egypt; 
and I will nourish him and you, all 
the years of famine. Tell him that 
I live, and that I am a rich and 
happy man in Egypt; and that 
God has kept and blessed me all the 
years I have lived here.” Then he 
fell upon his brothers’ necks, and 
kissed them, and wept upon them; 




JOSEPH AND BENJAMIN. 




















JACOB IK EGYPT. 


51 


and they all talked and wept to¬ 
gether. 

King Pharaoh was glad to hear 
Joseph’s brothers were come, and he 
sent a present to Jacob, and wagons 
to bring him and all his family to 
Egypt. Then Joseph gave clothes, 
and money, and food, to his broth¬ 
ers, and sent them away. They went 
home rejoicing, and ran to Jacob, 
and cried, “ Joseph is yet alive, and 
he is governor over Egypt.” But 
Jacob could not believe the good 
news, till they showed him the 
wagons, and told him that Joseph 


had sent them to carry him to 
Egypt; and then he said, “It is 
enough: Joseph my son is yet alive; 
I will go and see him before I die.” 

We see now why Joseph, at first, 
appeared so harsh to his brothers: 
it was to prove them for their good. 
When he found they were really 
penitent and sincere, and just and 
true in what they did, he showed 
them directly, how willingly he for¬ 
gave them all. Let us learn, like 
Joseph, to return good for evil. “If 
thine enemy hunger, feed him.” 
Rom. xii. 20. 


coco 


f 


A C O B 


XXL 

in Egypt. 


AC OB and his sons soon 
began their journey to 
Egypt. It was a long 
journey, but a very hap¬ 
py one for Jacob. When 
they came to Beersheba, Israel of¬ 
fered sacrifices to God, and thanked 
and praised Him for all His mercies. 
In the night, God spoke to Jacob, 
and said, “ I am God ; the God of 
thy fathers Abraham and Isaac; 
fear not to go to Egypt; for I will 
be with thee; and will make thee 
there a great people ; and, in a fu¬ 
ture time, I will bring thy children’s 
children again to Canaan.” Then 
Jacob arose, and went to Egypt 
with all his family; his sons and 
their wives, and their children, sev¬ 
enty people. When Joseph saw the 
wagons coming, he commanded his 
servant to bring his chariot, and 
rode in it to meet Jacob. Joseph 
fell on his father’s neck, and kissed 
him, and they both wept a long 


time. They had much to tell one 
another: all the wonderful things 
God had done; all their past sor¬ 
rows and fears; and all their joy 
now. 

The next day, Joseph brought his 
father and his brothers to king Pha¬ 
raoh. The king was very glad to 
see them, and he spoke gently and 
kindly to old Jacob, and asked, 
“ How old art thou ?” Jaaob said, 
“ The days of my pilgrimage are a 
hundred and thirty years; few and 
evil have the years of my life been.” 
And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and 
went out. Joseph gave his father 
and his brothers a possession in 
Egypt, and fed them with bread all 
the years of famine. The people 
still came to Joseph to buy corn, 
but now all their money was gone: 
Joseph took it, and gave it to Pha¬ 
raoh. Then the people brought 
their cattle, and gave them for corn : 
and when they were gone, they sold 










52 


JACOB'S DEATH. 


their fields: so all the land of Egypt 
became Pharaoh's except the land of 
the priests, which was not sold. 
After the famine was over God 
sent com and bread in plenty again. 

The story of Joseph is won¬ 
derful. He knew not why God 
sent him to Egypt; nor why he was 
put in prison; nor why he was so 
many years alone and sorrowful, far 
away from his dear father. But 


God knew why: He is wise; He 
knows all things: He sees the 
end of all, and He commands all; 
and he does all rightly. Let us 
love and serve this wise, and great, 
and gracious God! Then He will 
be with us, to keep and comfort us, 
as he did Joseph: we know that 
“ All things work together for good 
to them that love God.” Rom. 
viii. 28. 


-cCGO- 

XXII. 


/ 


A C O B S 


P 


E A T H . 



ACOB lived seventeen 
years happily in Egypt 
with all his family, and 
saw his sons' sons growing 
up around him. But now 
he was 147 years old, and he became 
ill, and felt that he must soon die, and 
he sent for his son Joseph to bless 
him, and talk to him. Joseph went 
directly to his father, and he took 
with him his two sons, Manasseh 
and Ephraim. Jacob was very ill, 
and lying upon his bed; but when 
he saw Joseph, he sat up, and be¬ 
gan to talk to him of that gracious 
God who had been so kind to them 
all; who had appeared to him many 
years before at Bethel, and promised 
to give the land of Canaan to his 
children for a possession. Then Ja¬ 
cob turned round, and saw Joseph’s 
two sons standing by their father, 
and asked, “ Who are they ?” Jo¬ 
seph said, “ They are my sons, the 
children whom God has given me 
in Egypt.” Then Jacob told them 
to come to him, that he might bless 
them : and he put his arms around 
them, and kissed them, and thanked 


God who had shown them to him. 
Then he put his hands upon their 
heads, and blessed both them and 
their father. He said, “The God 
who hath kept my father Abraham 
and Isaac, who has taken care of 
me all my life, the angel who re¬ 
deemed me from evil, bless the lads.” 
Then Jacob called all his sons, and 
blessed them. God taught him to 
prophesy, and he told his sons 
of many wonderful things, which 
would happen when they were dead, 
and in their graves. Jacob told his 
sons, that God would bring their 
children home again to Canaan after 
many years; and he commanded 
them not to bury him in Egypt, 
but to carry his body to Canaan, to 
the cave of Machpelah, and bury it 
there, by Abraham, and Isaac, and 
their families. 

When Jacob had finished all he 
wished to sav, he lay down again on 
the bed, and died, and his happy 
soul went to God, the God of his. 
fathers, to be with him for ever/ 
Jacob was a sinner, like each of us; 
he had done many wicked things; 









AN EXAMPLE OF PATIENCE. 


53 


out all his sins were washed away; 
he had asked forgiveness, and God 
had heard his prayer, and saved him. 

When Joseph saw that Jacob was 
dead, he “ fell upon his father’s face, 
and wept upon him, and kissed 
him.” All the people wept for Ja¬ 
cob seventy days. Then Joseph said 
to king Pharaoh, “ My father com¬ 
manded me not to bury him in 
Egypt, but to carry him to Canaan, 
to his own grave: let me now go to 
Canaan, and bury my father, and 
then I will wme back again.” And 
Pharaoh gave him leave; so Joseph, 
and his brothers, and their servants, 
went up to Canaan with chariots 
and horses: but their little children, 
and their flocks, staid in Egypt. 
They carried with them Jacob’s dead 
body: and when they came to Ca¬ 
naan, they mourned for him again 
seven days; and then went on their 
journey, and buried Jacob in the 
field of Machpelah, by his fathers 
Abraham and Isaac. Let us re¬ 
member, that we too must die, our 
bodies must lie in the tomb, as Ja¬ 
cob’s did, and our friends will weep 


for us, as his children wept for him. 
But if our sins have all been par¬ 
doned, as Jacob’s were, then we 
shall be happy when we die. “ Bless¬ 
ed are the dead that die in the 
Lord.” Rev. xiv. 13. 

Joseph and his brethren finished 
burying their father, and looked at 
his tomb for the last time, and went 
back to Egypt. And then again 
Joseph’s brothers asked him to for¬ 
give them, for they had not forgot¬ 
ten their past unkindness to him. 
Joseph wept when they spoke to 
him, and told them not to fear, for 
that he would take care of them. 
Then they were comforted, and they 
all lived in Egypt in love and peace. 
Joseph lived to be 110 years old; 
and when he was going to die, he 
said to his brothers, “ I die, but fear 
not: God will be with you, and, in 
a future time, bring your children 
to Canaan.” And Joseph told them 
to keep his bones, that they might 
be carried to Canaan, and be buried 
there. So Joseph died, “and they 
embalmed him, and he was put in a 
coffin in Egypt.” 


XXIII. 


ft N ^XAMPLE 

BOUT this time, there 
was dwelling in Uz, in 
Arabia, a man named Job. 
Job was a very rich man; 
he had great possessions 
of sheep, and camels, and oxen, and 
asses: he was the greatest man in 
the east at that time. And Job 
was a holy man, as well as a rich 
man. The Bible says, he “feared 
God; ” the same God whom Abra- 


OF j ATIENCE. 

ham, and Isaac, and Jacob feared; 
and he hoped as they did, to be 
saved by the Lord Jesus Christ, 
who was to come into the world to 
die for sinners. Job had several 
children; and he taught them to 
serve God, and prayed for them, 
and offered sacrifices for them, ac¬ 
cording to the command of God. 

“ Now there was a day when the 
sons of God came to present them- 









54 


AN EXAMPLE OF PATIENCE. 


selves before the Lord; and Satan 
came also among them.” What 
does this mean? Who were the 
sons of God, and why did God let 
Satan come among them ? The 
Bible does not tell us. Perhaps the 
sons of God were his true and 
faithful servants who came to wor¬ 
ship before him; and, perhaps, 
Satan came among them, as he comes 
now among us, to tempt them to sin, 
and to lead them away from God. 

But God spoke to Satan, and said 
to him, " Whence comest thou ?” 
And Satan answered, " From going 
to and fro in the earth, and from 
walking up and down in it.” Then 
God asked Satan again, if he had 
considered his servant Job, what a 
holy and upright man he was, and 
one who feared God. Satan had 
long known and hated Job, as he 
knows and hates all the people of 
God; and he even dared to accuse 
Job before God, and to say, that all 
his goodness was false and hypo¬ 
critical; and that he pretended to 
fear God, only that he might be 
rich, and safe, and prosperous, and 
not because he really loved him. 

God knew all the truth about 
Job. He knew that Job was sin¬ 
cere, and not false and hypocritical 
as Satan said; but it pleased God 
to allow Satan, at that time, to try 
Job, and to vex and afflict him; 
and God did this for Job’s own 
good; to make him more humble, 
more patient, and more believing. 
So the Lord said to Satan, "All that 
he hath is in thy power, only upon 
himself put not forth thine hand.” 
Then “ Satan went forth from the 
presence of the Lord,” to use all the 
power allowed him, to afflict and 
trouble righteous Job. 


There was a day when Job’s sons 
and daughters were eating, and 
drinking wine in their eldest broth¬ 
er’s house; and there came a mes¬ 
senger to Job, and said, " The oxen 
were ploughing, and the asses feed¬ 
ing beside them, and some enemies, 
the Sabeans, fell upon them, and 
took them away, and have slain the 
servants with the sword; and I 
only am escaped to tell thee.” And 
while this messenger was speaking, 
there came another to Job, and 
said, “ The fire is fallen from Hea¬ 
ven, and has burned up the sheep 
and the servants; and I only am 
escaped to tell thee.” And while 
he was speaking, another messenger 
came, and said, " The Chaldeans fell 
upon the camels, and carried them 
away, and slew the servants with 
the sword, and I only am escaped 
to tell thee.” And while this man 
was speaking, a fourth messenger 
came, and said, "Thy sons and 
daughters were eating and drinking 
in their eldest brother’s house, and 
there came a great wind, and smote 
the house, and it fell upon the young 
men, and they are dead; and I only 
am escaped to tell thee.” 

Poor Job! a very little time be¬ 
fore, he had been the richest and 
most prosperous man in the east. 
Now, he had lost everything; his 
flocks and his herds, and his ser¬ 
vants, and his children too,— all 
were gone. What did he do ? How 
did he bear so much sorrow coming 
upon him so suddenly ? There 
was one thing Job still had, and 
that enabled him to bear all this 
patiently and submissively. ( Job 
had not lost his trust in God. He felt 
quite sure that these troubles did 
not come without God’s permission; 




JOB IN TROUBLE. 


55 


and he knew that God would only 
permit what was right and good for 
him; so, when Job heard all these 
sad tidings, though he arose and 
rent his clothes, to show his sorrow, 
yet he fell down, and worshipped 
God, to show his submission to His 
will, and said, “ The Lord gave, and 
the Lord hath taken away, blessed 
be the name of the Lord.” 

Here is an example for us; an 
example of patience. We must all 


have sorrows and troubles to bear, 
though perhaps not so many, and so 
great as Job had. Then, whenever 
they come upon us, let us pray for 
Job’s patience, and Job’s holy trust in 
God. If we have God for our friend, 
as Job had, nothing can really hurt 
us; and we shall feel this, as he did, 
and be willing to submit to all our 
trials without murmuring, and to 
say, “ It is the Lord, let Him do what 
seemeth Him good.” 1 Sam. iii. 18, 


jJ O B IN 

GAIN there was a day 
when the sons of God 
came to present them¬ 
selves before the Lord, and 
Satan came also among 
them. Then God spoke to Satan, 
as He had done before, and asked 
him if he had considered His ser¬ 
vant Job, who was still faithful, 
though he had been so tried and so 
afflicted. But Satan was not satis¬ 
fied with all the troubles Job had 
suffered; he wished to vex and 
afflict him still more; and he told 
God, that though Job had borne 
the loss of his possessions patiently, 
yet, if his body was made to suffer 
disease and pain, he would then show 
that he was only a hypocrite after 
all, and would even curse God to 
His face. The Lord was pleased, in 
His wisdom, to allow Job to be still 
more tried and afflicted, so he said 
to Satan, “ He is in thy hand; but 
save his life.” Then Satan went 
out, and smote Job with sore boils 
all over his body. 

Job had now to bear pain, as well 


XXIV. 

Jrouble, 

as sorrow; yet he was patient and 
submissive still. And then he had 
another and a new trial. His wife 
was living, and she might have 
comforted Job in his trouble; but 
instead of encouraging him to trust 
in God, she advised him to put an 
end to his own life;—to kill him¬ 
self. She said, “ Curse God, and 
die.” But Job reproved her for 
speaking so wickedly, and said, 
“ What ? Shall we receive good at 
the hand of God, and shall we not 
receive evil?” Job knew that all 
came from God’s hand and by God’s 
permission; and therefore, he was 
willing to receive whatever hap¬ 
pened to him, whether it were good 
or evil. 

When Job’s friends came to the 
place where he was, they looked up, 
and saw him, but they did not know 
him. He was not now as he once 
had been. When they last visited 
him, he was prosperous and happy, 
with all his family, and all his pos¬ 
sessions, and living in honor and 
peace, the greatest man in the east 









56 


JOB AHD HIS FKIEHDS. 


But now, all was changed. There 
he sat, alone, among the ashes; his 
body was covered with a dreadful 
disease; all his possessions were 
gone, his children were dead, and he 
had no one to speak kindly to him, 
nor to comfort him. The sight 
made his friends feel sad, and “ They 
lifted up their voice and wept.” 
Then they rent their clothes, and 


sprinkled dust upon their heads, 
and sat down with him upon the 
ground; and for seven days they 
did not speak a word to him, for 
they saw that his grief was very 
great. Sometimes, when our friends 
are in very great trouble, as Job 
was, it is not well to try to comfort 
them by words. It is kinder and 
wiser to feel for them in silence. 


XXV. 


j) O B AND HI 

T last, Job began to speak, 
and to complain bitterly 
of all his sufferings. He 
was tempted even to wish 
he had never been born; 
and to murmur, and be impatient, 
and to find fault with God himself, 
who had so afflicted him. 

And did not Job’s friends encour¬ 
age him to trust in God, and submit 
fco His will ? No; instead of doing 
this, they only added to his grief, 
by unkindly and unjustly accusing 
him. They told him God never 
would have afflicted him so much, 
if he had not been a very wicked 
man; for they thought that righte¬ 
ous people were always prosperous, 
and that only the wicked were 
afflicted; so, when they saw Job in 
trouble, they said his sufferings 
were sent as a punishment for his 
sins, and they advised him to hum¬ 
ble himself before God, and ask for 
pardon. 

Job knew that he was a sinner; 
he knew that he could not trust 
to his own goodness and right¬ 
eousness: he said, “How should 
man be just before God. If I justify 


S y ENDS, 

myself, mine own mouth shall con¬ 
demn me.” But Job could not 
believe that all his troubles were 
sent to punish him for some partic¬ 
ular sin; or, because he had been 
only pretending to serve God, when 
he did not really love Him. No; 
Job felt that he had been sincere; 
not a hypocrite, as his friends un¬ 
kindly said he was; and so when 
they accused him, he answered, 
“ My righteousness I hold fast, and 
will not let it go; my heart shall 
not reproach me as long as I live.” 

Now Job and his friends were 
quite right in some things that they 
said, but in others they were very 
much mistaken. Job’s friends were 
right in advising him to humble 
himself before God, and ask for 
pardon; for afflictions are sent by 
God to lead His people to do this. 
But they were quite wrong in ac¬ 
cusing Job of being a wicked man, 
and a hypocrite, because he was 
afflicted; for God often afflicts 
most those who love and serve him 
best,—in love, not in anger; “ Whom 
the Lord loveth he correcteth.” 
Prov. iff. 12. And though Job was 









ELIHU. 


57 


right in saying, that he had not 
brought his sufferings on himself, 
by his own wickedness’ and hypoc¬ 
risy, yet he spoke what was wrong, 


too; for he almost accused God of 
unkindness and injustice, in afflict¬ 
ing him after he had so sincerely 
tried to serve God. 


XXVI. 


j5 L- I 

OB and his friends were 
not alone when they talk¬ 
ed together. A young 
man was sitting by, and 
listening to all they said; 
but he did not speak until they 
were silent; for they were older 
than he, and he thought, “ Days 
should speak, and multitude of 
years should 'teach wisdom.” This 
young man’s name was Elihu. Hu¬ 
mility and respect made him keep 
silent so long; hut Elihu had much 
to say, for God had given him great 
wisdom; and so, when the others 
left off speaking, he offered to an¬ 
swer Job himself. Elihu was angry 
with what had been said. He was 
displeased with Job, because he had 
justified himself more than God; 
and he was displeased with his three 
friends, “ because they had found 
no answer, and yet had condemned 
Job.” 

So Elihu said, “ Hearken unto 
me, I also will show my opinion.” 
Then they all listened, in silence, to 
what Elihu had to say. 

And how did Elihu answer them ? 
First, he reproved Job for justifying 
himself more than God. Job had 
said, “ I am righteous, and God 
hath taken away my judgment;” 
and “it profiteth a man nothing 
that he should delight himself with 
God.” This was accusing God of 


H u . 

injustice; it was saying, that God 
had acted wrongly in afflicting a 
righteous man. But Elihu said, 
“ Far be it from God that He should 
do wickedness, and from the Al¬ 
mighty that he should commit 
iniquity; for the work of a man 
shall He render unto him, and cause 
every man to find according to his 
ways.” Yes;—God is perfectly holy, 
and perfectly wise; and therefore 
He will not, He cannot, do anything 
wrong or unjust; God can never 
err, never be mistaken. God often, 
indeed, acts in a way which we can¬ 
not understand; He often does 
things which perplex us, and which 
seem to us to be for evil, and not 
for good. But this is because we 
are ignorant; because we see only a 
little part of God’s doings; because 
we do not know, as He does, all the 
past, and all the future; nor see the 
end from the beginning, as He can. 
Then, whenever we feel doubtful, 
and perplexed, and inclined to mur¬ 
mur, like Job, at what God does, 
let us remember what Elihu said— 
“ God is greater than man; why 
dost thou strive against Him ? for 
He giveth not account- of any of 
His matters; ” and if we feel this, 
then we shall be willing to trust to 
His power and goodness, and say, as 
Abraham did, “ Shall not the judge of 
all the earth do right.” Gen . xviii. 25. 









58 


ELIHU. 


Elihu reminded Job of many 
things, which might teach him how 
much greater God was than he. He 
spoke of the eternity of God. He 
said, “ God is great, and we know 
Him not, neither can the number 
of His years be searched out.” How 
can we understand all the greatness 
of God, when we are ourselves poor, 
weak creatures, made of dust, and 
“ crushed before the moth ? ” And 
then, Elihu spoke of the works of 
God. He reminded Job of the light, 
and the thunder, and the clouds, 
and the rain; and of the wonderful 
way in which God orders all these 
things, too wonderful for Job to 
understand, for “ He doeth great 
things which we cannot compre¬ 
hend ; ” and therefore Job was to 
“ stand still, and consider the won¬ 
drous works of God.” 

And now the Lord himself an¬ 
swered Job, and spoke to him out 
of the whirlwind; and bid him 
reply to Him, if he could. He said, 
“ I will demand of thee, and answer 
thou me.” And then the Lord 
asked Job, if he could tell how the 
earth was made, and if he under¬ 
stood the motion of the stars, or 
was able to rule the sea, and the 
light, and the darkness. And God 
spoke to him of some of the ani¬ 
mals which He had created, and of 
the wonderful instinct which he 
had given them; He reminded Job 


of the goats, and the wild ass, and 
the peacock, and the ostrich, and 
the horse. Job had seen all these 
animals; perhaps he knew much of 
their habits, and their histories; 
and he might have known, too, 
much of the other works of God. 
But Job could not make one of 
these things, nor even understand 
how they were made. He could 
only notice them, and admire them, 
and wonder at them; and that was 
all. And if Job could not under¬ 
stand the works of God, how could 
he understand God himself ? and 
then how could he dare to contend 
with Him, or to murmur at any¬ 
thing he did ? Job felt all this. 
He felt humbled and ashamed; and 
therefore, instead of again trying to 
justify himself, he said, “ Behold I 
am vile, what shall I answer Thee ? 
I will lay my hand upon my mouth. 
Once have I spoken, but I will not 
answer; yea, twice, but I will pro¬ 
ceed no further.” 

And when toe behold the wonder¬ 
ful works of God, we should, like Job, 
feel our own weakness and sinful¬ 
ness : and how thankful we should 
be, that this great Creator is our 
merciful Father too ; “ that God is 
love; ” and that He has shown His 
love by giving “ His only begotten 
Son, that whosoever believeth in 
him, should not perish, but have 
everlasting life.” John iii. 16. 




THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION. 


5ft 


XXVII. 


y h e p 


E N E F I T OF 


/ 


FFLICTION 


OD spoke again to Job 
out of the whirlwind, that 
He might make him feel 
still more his own sinful¬ 
ness and folly, in trying 
to justify himself before God. And 
then, the Lord told Job of other 
wonderful works of His. He de¬ 
scribed two great animals. Behemoth 
and Leviathan, which were so strong 
and powerful, that even mighty 
men were afraid of contending with 
them. How much greater, then, 
must He be who made them, and 
how vain and foolish to resist His 
will! 

Then Job answered the Lord, and 
said, “I know that thou canst do 
everything. I have uttered what I 
understood not, things too wonder¬ 
ful for me, which I knew not. 
Wherefore, I abhor myself, and re¬ 
pent in dust and ashes.” And did 
God forgive Job ? Yes; as soon as 
Job was humble and penitent, God 
pardoned, and accepted, and blessed 
him. 

Afterwards, the Lord spoke to 
Eliphaz, and said, “ My wrath is kin¬ 
dled against thee and thy two friends; 
because ye have not spoken of me 
that which is right, as my servant 
Job has.” And God commanded 
them to offer sacrifice for their sin, 
and to ask Job to pray for them; 
and they did so, and the Lord ac¬ 
cepted Job. 

Did Job still remain in sorrow 
and affliction? No;—‘“the Lord 
turned his captivity.” He took 
away his painful disease, and made 
him well and strong again. He 


sent all his friends to comfort him, 
and to give him presents; and the 
Lord himself gave Job twice as 
much as he had before—sheep, and 
oxen, and camels, and asses; and 
he had also seven sons, and three 
daughters. Job lived in comfort 
and prosperity for many years after, 
having the blessing of God to make 
him happy; and at last he died, 
“ old and full of days.” 

And now what are we to learn 
from the history of Job ? One 
thing we may learn from him is 
patience. St. James says, “We 
count them happy that endure. Ye 
have heard of the patience of Job. 
and have seen the end of the Lord, 
that the Lord is very pitiful, and of 
tender mercy.” James v. 11. And 
this teaches us also, the use and 
benefit of affliction to God’s people. 
“ God does not afflict willingly, nor 
grieve the children of men.” Lam, 
iii. 33. He afflicts in mercy. He 
would not have allowed Job to be 
so tried and troubled but for Job’s 
own good and profit. And we are 
to learn, too, from Job, not to jus¬ 
tify ourselves before God. Job’s 
afflictions were sent to teach him 
this. We should remember how 
sinful we all are, and how often we 
offend God; and then when trouble 
comes, instead of justifying our¬ 
selves, we shall confess, that “ God 
has punished us less than our ini¬ 
quities deserve.” Ez. ix. 13. And 
the history teaches us another thing; 
—how to obtain pardon. When 
Job and his friends sinned, they were 
to repent; to humble themselves 






60 


THE CRUEL KING. 


before God, to pray to Him, and to 
offer a sacrifice in faith; and when 
they did so, they were forgiven and 


accepted, and so, when we sin, w# 
must repent, and pray for pardon 
too. 


XXVIII. 


Jhe 


P 


R U E L' 


JC I N G. 


ANY years passed away. 
Joseph was dead, and all 
his brothers. A new 
generation of Israelites 
now lived in Egypt; they 
were very many, the country was 
full of them. A new king was 
reigning, who did not know Joseph; 
and he was very cruel, and hated 
the Israelites, and wished to kill 
them all. He commanded them to 
do very hard work in the fields, and 
in making brick; and their cruel 
masters beat them, and were very 
unkind to them. And did they die 
when the king gave them all this 
hard work, which made them so 
weak and tired? No, because God 
kept them ; and therefore nothing 
could hurt them; they grew and 
multiplied more and more. And 
why did God care for them so much ? 
Because He had promised Abraham, 
many years before, that his children 
should be like the sand for mul¬ 
titude, and like the stars in the 
sky, which we cannot count. God 
never forgets His promises, nor His 
people who love and serve Him. But 
God had promised Jacob to bring 
his children home to Canaan, and 
now they were far off from their 
possessions;—had not God forgot¬ 
ten this promise ? No : we read 
that He told Abraham, that his 
children should go to a strange 
country, and be afflicted here till the 


end of 400 years. God knew the 
time; soon the 400 years would be 
over, then the Israelites would be 
sent home to their own land again. 

But Pharaoh, the cruel king, did 
not know God, and he tried again and 
again to destroy the Israelites. He 
commanded every little Israelitish 
boy that was born, to be thrown into 
the river and drowned. The poor 
mothers loved their dear children, 
and cried bitterly about this cruel, 
wicked law; but the king had no 
pity, and many of the little boys 
were thrown into the river and 
drowned. But God loved those 
children; and when they died, He 
took their souls to be with Him in 
Heaven. 

There was a woman of the family 
of Levi, who loved God, and her 
husband too was a good man. God 
gave them a little boy. The par¬ 
ents loved this dear child, and 
tried to save him from the cruel 
king. For three months, the mother 
hid her child, that he might not be 
drowned; but when he grew older 
and larger, she could not hide him 
any longer. But she knew God 
could keep her little boy, if she 
could not, and she told all her sor¬ 
row to Him. God can help us when 
we are in trouble, and he can take 
care of us, when our dearest friends 
cannot; and He was pleased now to 
help this poor woman who trusted 








THE CRUEL KIHG. 


61 


in Him, and to take care of her 
little child. 

The mother gathered some reeds, 
and platted them into a little basket 
or ark; and then she took her dear 
child, and put him into the ark, 
and carried him to the river. Did 
she throw him in? No, she laid 
him gently among the high grass 
and reeds, by the side of the river. 
She could take care of him no 
more, so she gave him up to God, 
who alone could keep him; but she 
left Miriam, her little girl, to watch 
near her brother. Soon she. saw 
some people coming; who were 
they ? They were ladies ; one was 
the cruel king’s daughter, and the 
others were her maids; and they 
walked along by the river, for the 
princess was going to bathe. They 
did not see Miriam; she was a little 
way off, but she could see them, and 
hear all they said. The king’s 
daughter soon saw the ark among 
the reeds, and she sent her maid to 
fetch it. The maid ran and took up 
the ark, and brought it to her mis¬ 
tress, and opened it. Pharaoh’s 
daughter was not like her cruel 
father; she pitied the poor babe, 
and said, “ It is one of the Hebrew 
children.” When Miriam heard the 
kind lady speak, she went up to the 
princess, and said, “ Shall I go, and 


call a Hebrew woman to nurse the 
child for thee?” Pharaoh’s daugh¬ 
ter said, “ Go.” Then Miriam ran 
home, and told her mother about 
the kind lady who wished to save 
the dear babe: and asked her moth¬ 
er to come aM nurse it. Miriam 
and her mother went back to Pha¬ 
raoh’s daughter, and the kind 
princess said, “ Take this child and 
nurse it for me, and I will pay thee 
thy wages.” The mother brought 
him home, and nursed him, and he 
grew; and when he was a little 
older, she brought him to Pharaoh’* 
daughter again. The princess loved 
the child; and she said, “ He shall 
be my son, and I will name him 
Moses, (or, drawn out) because I 
drew him out of the water.” 

How kind God is to those who 
love and pray to Him! He heard 
this mother’s prayer, and saved her 
child from a cruel death. And God 
loves to save children now. He 
keeps them when they are in their 
cradles; He keeps them when they 
run about, and gives them health, 
and strength, and all they have. 
But God likes best, that children’s 
souls should be saved. Jesus says, 
“ It is not the will of your Father 
which is in heaven, that one of these 
little ones should perish.” Mat• 
thew xviii. 14. 



62 


THE BEST RICHES. 


XXIX. 


Jh E j3 E S T 

HARAOH’S daughter lov¬ 
ed Moses, and she told 
the wise men of Egypt to 
teach him all they, knew : 
for she wished Moses to 
be wise. The Egyptians knew 
many things, and had much wis¬ 
dom; but not the best wisdom; 
they did not know nor worship the 
true God. They worshipped ani¬ 
mals; bulls, and sheep, and dogs, 
and cats, and crocodiles, and insects. 
But the Israelites, who lived in 
Egypt, remembered the God of 
their fathers, Abraham, and Isaac, 
and Jacob; and the mother of 
Moses, no doubt, taught him holy 
things, true wisdom, when he was a 
very little boy; and she prayed for 
him, that he might be kept from 
sin, and that he might love and 
serve the Lord. And God heard 
her prayer; and taught Moses by 
the Holy Spirit, that riches and 
worldly things could not make him 
happy, nor save his soul: that God 
alone could keep him from sin; 
and that he could be saved only by 
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who 
should at a future time come down 
from heaven and die for sinners. 
Pharaoh’s daughter called him her 
son, and wished to give him great 
riches; but Moses did not wish to 
be rich: he chose “ rather to suffer 
affliction with the people of God, 
than to enjoy the pleasures of sin 
for a season.” Heb. xi. 25. St. 
John says, “Love not the world, 
neither the things that are in the 
world.” 1 John ii. 15. If we love 
pleasure, or riches, or power, or sin, 


I C H E S . 

more than we love God, we cannot 
be His children. We must give 
him all our thoughts, all our affec¬ 
tions, all our love. Jesus said to 
his disciples, “ Lay not up for your¬ 
selves treasures upon earth, where 
moth and rust doth corrupt, and 
where thieves break through and 
steal; but lay up for yourselves 
treasures in heaven, where neither 
moth nor rust doth corrupt, and 
where thieves do not break through 
nor steal.” Matthew vi. 19, 20. 

When Moses was grown up, he 
went to visit his brethren the 
Israelites, who were suffering so 
much in Egypt. One day he saw 
an Egyptian cruelly beating an 
Israelite; they were alone, but 
God’s eye was upon them. God 
saw the wicked Egyptian, and the 
poor Israelite, and sent Moses to 
help his suffering brother. Moses 
ran to the two men, and saved the 
Israelite, and killed the Egyptian, 
and hid the body in the sand. The 
next day, Moses went out again, and 
saw two men fighting. Were they 
Egyptians? No, they were both 
Israelites. Moses was grieved to 
see them so wicked: for God’s peo¬ 
ple ought to be kind and gentle; 
brothers ought to love one another. 
So Moses went to them, and tried 
to make peace between them. But 
the one who did the wrong, would 
not attend to Moses; and said, 
“Who sent thee to be a judge? 
Wilt thou kill me as thou killedst 
the Egyptian yesterday?” When 
Moses heard this he was very much 
afraid, for he thought the people 







THE BUKHING BUSH. 


63 


knew what he had done; and the 
king might be angry, and seek to 
kill him. So Moses fled from Egypt, 
and went to Midian, and sat down 
by a well. As he sat there, some 
young women came to the well to 
water their sheep ; and Moses helped 
them and drew water for them. 
When they went home, they told 
their father how kind Moses had 
been* their father’s name was Je¬ 
thro; and when he heard about 
Moses, he sent for him, and gave 
him food, and asked him to live with 
him in Midian. Moses did so ; and 
sometime after he married one of 
Jethro’s daughters, who was named 
Zipporah. Moses had not now the 


riches of Egypt, which he had when 
he lived at the king’s house; he 
was a poor man, keeping Jethro’s 
sheep in the wilderness. But Moses 
knew that God would take care of 
him; and he loved God better than 
all the fine things in Egypt. 

Bnt did God forget the Israelites, 
when Moses was gone ? No ; He 
heard them cry, and remembered 
His promise to Abraham, and Isaac, 
and Jacob. “ God looked upon the 
children of Israel.” We may be 
sure that God’s eye is always upon 
us: He knows all our sorrows, and 
sees all our tears, and, in due time, 
He will comfort and deliver us, if 
we trust in Him. 


XXX. 


'J H E j3 U 


RN I N G 


j3 U 


S H 



NE day, Moses was keep¬ 
ing Jethro’s sheep hy 
Mount Horeb. As he sat 
there quietly and alone, 
he thought often of his 
poor brethren suffering in Egypt, 
and he asked God to help and de¬ 
liver them. Moses had much faith; 
be knew that God had power to 
save the Israelites, and he believed 
that He would save them at the 
right time. While Moses was think¬ 
ing of all this, he saw a bright light 
shining near him; and he looked 
up, and saw a bush burning with 
fire. But the bush was not con¬ 
sumed ; it did not wither away; the 
leaves and branches did not turn 
black, and crumble to pieces; and 
Moses wondered very much, and 
said, “Why is not the bush con¬ 
sumed? I will go and see.” So 


Moses went to look; but when he 
came near, he heard a voice out of 
the bush, saying, “Moses, Moses.” 
Who called him ? What made the 
bush burn, and why was it not con¬ 
sumed ? The voice said again, 
“ The place where thou standest is 
holy ground. I am God; the God of 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” “ Then 
Moses hid his face; for he was 
afraid to look upon God.” 

But the Lord did not come to 
hurt His servant; He came to com¬ 
fort him, and to make him and his 
poor brethren happy. The Lord 
said, “ I have seen my people’s sor¬ 
row ; I have heard their cry. I am 
come to send thee to Pharaoh: and 
thou shalt bring my people out of 
Egypt.” But Moses was very much 
afraid, and said, “ Who am I that I 
should go to Pharaoh?” It was 







64 


THE BURNING BUSH. 


not right of Moses to be afraid when 
God sent him; he ought to have 
obeyed directly; but the Lord was 
very kind and gentle, and He spoke 
again to comfort Moses. He said, 
“ I will be with thee ; tell the peo¬ 
ple that I send thee. If the king 
disobey my command, I have power 
to punish him; and I will send 
plagues upon Egypt, and bring out 
my people safely.” But Moses was 
still unwilling to go, and said, 
“ Perhaps the people will not be¬ 
lieve me.” The Lord then told 
him to throw his rod upon the 
ground. Moses obeyed, and it be¬ 
came a serpent; and he fled from it 
for fear. But the Lord said, “ Take 
it by the tail;” and Moses caught 
it, and it did not bite nor hurt him, 
but became a rod again in his hand 
directly. Then God told Moses to 
put his hand into his bosom. Moses 
obeyed, and his hand became covered 
with leprosy ; but God told him to 
put his hand again into his bosom, 
and in a moment it was well. Then 
God told him to go and show these 
wonders to the people; that they 
might believe that He had sent him. 

Was Moses willing to go to Egypt 
now ? No; he was still afraid, he 
said, “ Lord, I cannot speak well; 
my tongue is slow, and I have no 
words.” But the Lord said, “ Who 
hath made man’s mouth ? Who 
r^aketh the deaf, and the dumb, and 
the seeing, and the blind? Have 


not I, the Lord ? Go; obey my 
command, and I will teach thee 
what thou shalt say.” 

But still Moses wished not to go. 
Then the Lord began to be an¬ 
gry; for though he is very kind 
and patient with His people, yet He 
does not like them to disobey His 
commands, nor to obey slowly and 
unwillingly. But the Lord said to 
Moses, “ Aaron thy brother may go 
with thee; he can speak well; and 
I will teach you both what you 
shall do.” Then Moses obeyed: he 
was timid and fearful in himself, 
but the Lord gave him strength 
and courage; so he went home, and 
took leave of Jethro, and called his 
wife Zipporah, and his two sons, 
and put them upon an ass, and re¬ 
turned to Egypt. Then God said 
to Aaron, who was living in Egypt, 
“ Go and meet Moses.” So Aaron 
went into the wilderness, and 
soon saw Moses and his family 
coming; and he ran, and kissed 
him. Moses had much to tell Aaron 
about the wonders God had shown 
him; and he asked Aaron to go 
with him to the king, and command 
him to send away the Israelites. 
Aaron was willing to go; so they 
both went, and called the elders of 
the Israelites, and told them that 
God had seen their sorrows, and 
was going to deliver them. Then 
they bowed down their heads, and 
worshipped. 



MOSES SPEAKS TO PHARAOH. Ex. 





:Vn(l afterward Moses and Aaron went in. and told Pharaoh. 










THE FIRST FOUR PLAGUES. 


65 


XXXI. 

JhE j^IRST j^OUR ^LAGUES, 


OSES and Aaron went 
together to the king, an¬ 
other Pharaoh, who was 
now reigning in Egypt, 
and said, “ The Lord com¬ 
mands thee to let the Israelites go.” 
But Pharaoh answered, “I do not 
know the Lord; and I will not let 
them go.” Then the king told the 
Israelites’ masters to give them more 
work, and the poor people were not 
able to finish their hard tasks in mak¬ 
ing brick; and their cruel masters 
beat them, and said, “You are idle; 
fulfil your work, your daily tasks.” 
The Israelites cried to Moses, and 
Moses went to God, and told Him 
all his sorrow. God knew all; His 
eye was upon them, and very soon 
He would deliver them, and He 
said, “ I have heard their groaning, 
I remember my covenant with Abra¬ 
ham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and I 
will bring my people to Canaan as 
I have promised.” 

Moses was now eighty years old; 
but he was not weak and feeble, as 
many old men are; he was strong 
and powerful. God made him so, 
because there was much for Moses 
to do before he died. It is God 
who gives us all our health and 
strength; and if we are well and 
strong we must not be idle. There 
is much for us all to do; and we 
must use our health and strength 
for God. “ Whatever thy hand 
findeth to do, do it with thy might.” 
Ecclesiastes ix. 10. 

God now gave Moses and Aaron 
power to do wonders, and to work 
miracles before Pharaoh. They 
went to the king; and Aaron threw 


down his rod before him, and it 
became a serpent. But Pharaoh 
called his wise men, and told them 
to try to do the same; and they did 
so with their enchantments. Had 
they power to work miracles? No; 
perhaps they might have learned to 
tame serpents, so as to make them 
look like rods in their hands; and 
then they might have thrown them 
down, as Aaron did, and thus pre¬ 
tended to work a miracle. But God 
made Aaron’s rod swallow up their 
rods. Pharaoh did not care for 
this, nor did he obey the command 
to let Israel go; and then God said, 
He would punish Pharaoh, by turn¬ 
ing his river into blood. 

The river Nile is very useful in 
Egypt; no rain falls there to water 
the ground; but in the summer, the 
river rises, and overflows the coun¬ 
try, and makes the land soft, and 
then the people sow their seed, and 
the grass and corn soon spring up. 
Did Pharaoh and the Egyptians 
thank God, who gave them the Nile 
to water their land ? No, the Egyp¬ 
tians forgot God; they made their 
river a god, and worshipped it, and 
sacrificed to it. But the Nile had 
no power to make the country fruit¬ 
ful ; it was God who made it, and 
who swelled up its waters, and 
watered the land; and now He de¬ 
termined to punish and humble the 
Egyptians, and to turn their river 
god into blood. 

God did as He said. He told 
Moses to go and stretch his rod 
over the waters ; and as soon as he 
did so, all became blood. The 
ponds, and the water in the vessels, 







66 


MORE PLAGUES. 


and the beautiful river, all were 
blood. The fish died; the Egyp¬ 
tians could not drink the water of 
the river; and their river god could 
not help them now. Did they re¬ 
pent, and ask God to forgive them ? 
No; and therefore God sent a new 
punishment upon them. He told 
Moses again to stretch out his hand 
over the river; and a very, very 
great number of frogs came up, and 
covered all the land. The frogs 
came into the houses, and beds, and 
ovens; and wherever the Egyptians 
went, they found them. Pharaoh 
sent for Moses and Aaron, and said, 
“ Intreat God to take away the frogs, 
and I will obey Him, and let Israel 
go.” So Moses prayed, and God 
heard his prayer, and made all the 
frogs die. And did Pharaoh send 
the Israelites away? No; when 
the plague was gone, Pharaoh was 
disobedient again, and he would not 
attend to what Moses and Aaron 
said. God was merciful to take 
away the plague, and He would 
have forgiven Pharaoh, if he had 
prayed humbly; but he did not, so 


God punished the wicked king 
again. He told Moses to stretch 
his rod over the dust, and it became 
lice upon the people, and upon the 
animals. The wicked magicians 
tried to do the same; but they 
could not, though they had imi 
tated the other miracles; they had 
no power, and they confessed this, 
and said to Pharaoh, “ This is the 
finger of God;” but the king did 
not attend to them. 

The next morning, the Lord sent 
Moses to say to Pharaoh, “ Let the 
people go; for if thou wilt not, I 
will send flies upon thee, and upon 
all thy people ; but I will send no 
flies upon my people, the Israel¬ 
ites.” The flies came; and wasps, 
and biting and stinging insects, 
very many; but none came to hurt 
the Israelites. The Egyptians had 
a god, called the god of flies; but 
he could not help them now. Then 
Pharaoh begged again that God 
would take away the flies, and 
promised to let Israel go; and God 
took them away; but still Pharaoh 
would not obey. 


XXXII. 


yVL ORE j 3 

HEN God said to Moses, 

“ Tell Pharaoh, if he will 
not let the people go, I 
will to-morrow send a 
grievous murrain upon all 
his cattle; upon the horses, and 
asses, and camels, and oxen, and 
sheep.” And the Lord did so on 
the morrow; and all the cattle of 
the Egyptians died, but not one 
that belonged to the Israelites ; and 



L A G U E S . 

Pharaoh’s heart was hardened still. 
Then Moses took ashes out of the 
furnace, and threw them up towards 
Heaven, at God’s command, and 
they became dust, and brought sore 
boils, upon men and beasts. The 
wicked Egyptian magicians suffered 
from the boils, and could not stand 
before Pharaoh. But still the king 
would not attend to God’s command. 

The next day, God sent verj 







MORE PLAGUES. 


67 


heavy hail, which broke the trees in 
pieces, and destroyed all the plants 
in the field; and the thunder roared 
in the sky, and the lightning ran 
along the ground. Pharaoh was 
very much frightened now; and he 
sent for Moses and Aaron, and 
cried, “ I have sinned; God is right¬ 
eous, and I am wicked: intreat 
God to take away the thunder, and 
lightning, and hail, and I will let 
you go.” Then Moses went out, 
and cried to God: and the Lord 
heard, and took away the fearful 
storm. What wonderful power God 
has! He can send storms, and take 
them away when He pleases; He 
can kill us with the lightning, or 
keep us safely. He can take care 
of us, as He took care of the Israel¬ 
ites in Egypt. 

But when the rain was over, Pha¬ 
raoh was again disobedient, and 
said, “ I will not let the people go.” 
Then God sent locusts, very, very 
many, to eat all the green things in 
the land. We have no such locusts 
here; but in eastern countries 
they are very common; and they 
come in great numbers, and eat the 
trees, and the fruit, and all they can 
find. The locusts God sent to pun¬ 
ish Egypt were very large; and 
there were so many that the land 
was darkened by them, and they ate 
every thing which the hail had not 
destroyed. The king again sent for 
Moses and Aaron, and begged them 
to pray for him. And they did 
pray, and God heard them; but 
when the plague was taken away, 
wicked Pharaoh again said, “ I will 
not let you go.” Then God sent a 
new and very dreadful plague over 
the land of Egypt; this was thick 
darkness; there was no light from 


the sun, nor moon, nor stars, for 
three days; and the people could 
not see to move from their places 
all that time. It was not common 
darkness; but a wonderful and 
fearful darkness sent by God, “a 
darkness that might be felt.” 

Were the Israelites in darkness 
too? No, they had light. God 
knew who believed in Him, and 
who did not; and He did not pun¬ 
ish His own people. He could 
make the sun shine brightly upon 
them, when it was black night with 
the Egyptians. Pharaoh again called 
Moses, and said, “You may go; 
only let your cattle be stayed.” But 
Moses said, “ No, we must take all 
our possessions with us; we will go 
with our wives, and our little chil¬ 
dren, our sons, and our daughters, 
our flocks, and all we have.” Then 
Pharaoh was angry, and drove Moses 
away, and told him never to come 
before him again. Moses said, 
“Thou hast spoken well; I will 
see thy face again no more; ” and 
he went away from the king. 

The darkness ended in three days; 
and then God said, “I will send 
one more plague upon Pharaoh, and 
afterwards he will let the people go. 
I will smite all the first-born in the 
land of Egypt.” And did God kill 
the first-born of the Israelites too ? 
No: He told them what they must 
do, if they believed his words, and 
wished to escape. They were to 
take a lamb, a lamb without spot or 
blemish, and to kill it in the eve¬ 
ning, and sprinkle the blood upon 
the lintel, and upon the two door¬ 
posts ; then they were to roast the 
lamb, and eat it. 

In the night, God sent an angel 
from Heaven to smite the first-born 



68 


THE DEPASTURE OF THE ISRAELITES. 


of the wicked Egyptians; the eld¬ 
est child in every house was killed, 
and all the first-born of cattle. But 
were the believing, obedient people 
safe ? Yes, the Lord saw the blood 
upon the doors, and passed over the 
houses, and did not slay the first¬ 
born in them. All those who 
obeyed God, and sprinkled the 
lamb’s blood upon the posts, were 
safe. 

The Lord Jesus Christ is like the 
lamb of the Israelites. He is the 
“Lamb of God,” holy and pure; 
“ without blemish and without 


spot.” 1 Peter i. 29. He was slain 
as the paschal lamb was, and His 
blood was shed upon the cross. 
Why ? To save our souls. The 
lamb of the Israelites saved their 
bodies from death. The Lamb of 
God saves our souls from sin. The 
blood of the lamb in Egypt was 
sprinkled upon the doors; the blood 
of Jesus must be sprinkled upon 
our hearts. The destroying angel 
saw the blood, and passed over the 
houses, and when God sees the 
blood of Jesus upon us, He forgives, 
and saves us from sin. 


XXXIII. 


y h e 


P E P A F^T U R E 


OF THE 


Jsraelites. 


HEN the destroying an¬ 
gel flew through Egypt, 
and came to the palace, 
and killed Pharaoh’s eld¬ 
est son, the king was 
very much frightened. He called 
for Moses and Aaron in the night, 
and said, “Rise up, you, and the 
Israelites, and their children, and 
the flocks, and herds, and be gone.” 
And the Egyptians gave to the 
Israelites all they asked for; gold, 
and silver, and clothes; and the 
Israelites made haste, and took up 
their things, and put them upon 
their shoulders, and hurried away 
to Succoth. 

How many were there ? 600,000 
men, and many women and chil¬ 
dren, and very much cattle. When 
Jacob and his family came into 
Egypt many years before, they were 
only seventy people. God had 
blessed and multiplied them very 
much; their cruel masters in Egypt 


could not destroy them, because 
God had promised to take care of 
them, and to bring them home to 
Canaan again. Many hundred years 
before, God had said to Abraham, 
“ Thy children shall go to a strange 
country, and be afflicted 400 years, 
and then I will bring them back to 
Canaan.” And so it was. Jacob 
and his children went to Egypt; 
they died; and their children, and 
their children’s children, for many 
generations, stayed there in sorrow, 
with cruel kings to reign over them. 
But God did not forget them. He 
knew the right time ; and when the 
400 years were over, then He sent 
Moses and Aaron, and gave them 
power to do wonders, and brought 
away His people in safety. How 
wonderful and how wise is God! 
He knows all things, sees all things, 
does all things. He knows the 
present, and the past, and the fu¬ 
ture ; and He does all things rightly. 








PHARAOH DROWNED. 


69 


Then let us love, and fear, and trust for His people everything that is 
in this good, and wise, and holy, good for them, 
and powerful God; for He will do 

— ■ -g Q OQ p - — 

XXXIV. 


j^HARAOH 

HEX Moses and the Is¬ 
raelites left Egypt in so 
much haste, they did not 
forget Joseph’s dying 
command, but carried his 
bones with them. Then they went 
on, and came to the Red Sea. But 
when Pharaoh heard they were gone, 
he commanded bis servants to bring 
his chariots, and his horses; and he 
went with a great army to bring 
the people back again. He over¬ 
took them by the sea; they were all 
resting in their tents; a pillar of 
cloud was before them; God gave 
them this pillar to show them the 
road by day; and by night, He put 
before them a pillar of fire to give 
them light. They were safe under 
God’s keeping. But soon they look¬ 
ed up ; and what did they see ? 
Pharaoh and the Egyptians coming 
after them very quickly, with their 
chariots and horses. The Israelites 
cried to the Lord, and said to Mo¬ 
ses, “Why hast thou brought us 
away from Egypt? We shall die, 
now, here in this wilderness! ” They 
forgot that God was still with them ; 
but Moses said, “ Fear not; be still, 
and the Lord will fight for you.” 
Then the Lord commanded the 
people to go on. But where could 
they go ? The great sea was before 
them, and there was no bridge to 
go over, and no ships to carry them 
across. What could they do ? God 


R O W N E D . 

knew; He could find a way for 
them to escape. The pillar which 
was before them, moved behind ; it 
stood now between the Israelites 
and the Egyptians; but the side 
next the Israelites was bright, to 
give them light; and the side next 
the Egyptians, was dark and cloudy, 
so that they could not see to do the 
Israelites any hurt all that night. 
Then God told Moses to stretch his 
rod over the sea; and the Lord sent 
a very strong wind to blow back the 
water; and in the morning, there 
was a dry road through the sea, and 
the waters stood like a wall on each 
side. Who did this wonder ? Not 
Moses, not his rod, not the strong 
wind alone;—it was God, God who 
has power to do all things. The 
Israelites walked through the sea, 
all of them, on dry ground; not 
one was drowned, for God held 
back the waters till they were all 
gone over safely. Then the Egyp¬ 
tians tried to pursue them, and 
went in after them; but God looked 
angrily at them through the pillar, 
and made them fear, and took off 
the wheels of their chariots. And 
then he told Moses to stretch his 
rod over the sea, and the waters came 
back again upon Pharaoh, and his 
army, and his servants, and cha¬ 
riots, and horses, and they were all 
drowned. 

In the morning, the Israelites 









70 


PHARAOH DROWNED. 


saw all their enemies lying dead 
upon the sea-shore. The Egyptians 
could hurt them no more now; 
their bodies were cold and dead, 
and their souls were gone to be 
judged by God, whom they had re¬ 
belled against, and disbelieved. “ It 
is a fearful thing to fall into the 
hands of the living God.” Hebrews 
x. 31. 

The Israelites thanked God, and 
sang praises to Him; and Miriam 
and the women prayed and danced 
for joy. Then they went on into 
the wilderness of Shur. They 
wandered there three days, and 
found no water. At last they came 
to Marah, and there was water; 
but the water was bitter, and they 
could not drink it. Then the people 
were discontented again, and said 
to Moses, “ What shall we drink ? ” 
Was this right? No; the Israel¬ 
ites were discontented and unbe¬ 
lieving people. They knew God 
had power to give them water if 
He pleased; and they knew that 
they ought to be patient if He gave 
them none; He had done many 
wonderful things for them, and He 


could do as many more; but they 
forgot His kindness, and were 
impatient, and angry, and dis¬ 
contented. Moses was sorry to 
find the people doing wrong again 
so soon. He could not comfort 
them; he could not make the water 
good; but he remembered who 
could, and he cried to the Lord. 
And did God attend to Moses? 
Yes; He did not forget His dis¬ 
tressed people. Moses “ cried unto 
the Lord; and the Lord showed 
him a tree, which when he had cast 
into the waters, the waters were 
made sweet.” 

Was there any wonderful power 
in this tree ? No, the power was 
in God; the tree could do no good 
without Him. God taught His 
people how great His power is, 
because He wished them to trust 
in Him, and to feel safe and happy 
in His keeping. We ought all to 
trust Him. He knows what is 
best for us; and, if we are His 
people, we are safe in all places, 
and may have comfort in all our 
sorrows. 



FOOD IN THE DESERT. 


71 


XXXV. 


^OOD IN 


THE 


p 


E S E R T. 


HEN God sweetened the 
bitter waters of Marah, 
He spoke kindly to the 
Israelites, and said, “If 
yon will obey me, and do 
what is right, then I will be with 
you, and keep, and bless, and 
strengthen you ; and I will not send 
any of those diseases and plagues 
upon you, which I sent upon the 
Egyptians” Then they were com¬ 
forted, and went on to Elim, and 
there they found twelve wells of 
water, and many date-palm trees; 
and they pitched their tents there. 
They were very glad to see these 
trees. The fruit is very pleasant 
and refreshing to poor tired wan¬ 
derers in the wilderness; the trees 
on which it grows can live in these 
hot places, and water is always 
found near the date trees. 

When the Israelites went away 
from Elim, they came into another 
wilderness, the Desert of Sin. Then 
they began to be discontented; and 
they murmured again, and said, 
« We shall die of hunger, for there 
is no food here. When we were in 
Egypt, we had plenty; but now, we 
have nothing; why did you bring 
us here?” How unthankful these 
people were! God had delivered 
them from their cruel masters, and 
brought them safely through the 
sea; and he had given them sweet 
water to drink, and promised always 
to take care of them; and yet they 
would not trust Him. 

Moses went again to God, and 
told Him all his sorrows, and all 
that the people said. Then God 


answered, “ I have heard their mur- 
murings; go, and tell them, I will 
give them flesh to-night to eat; and 
in the morning I will give them 
bread.” Where could they find 
flesh ? Must they kill all their 
flocks and herds ? No ; God sent 
them some birds called quails, which 
came in great numbers, and covered 
the tents; and the Israelites caught, 
and killed, and ate them in the eve¬ 
ning. And was this all God gave 
them? No ; in the morning, when 
the dew was gone, the Israelites saw 
the ground covered with a little 
round thing, white like frost. It 
was new to all the people, and they 
came out and looked, and wondered, 
and asked, “ What is it ?” Nobody 
knew; but Moses said, “ This is the 
bread God has given you to eat.” 
How wonderful was this! God 
sent this sweet bread to feed His 
people in the wilderness, when there 
was no corn for them to eat. 

The Israelites called the new food 
which God sent, Manna; it was 
sweet and nice, like honey. Moses 
said, “ You must gather the manna 
fresh every morning. God prom¬ 
ises to send it every day; but you 
must not keep it till the next morn¬ 
ing. Every one of you must gather 
an omer full; but the day before 
the Sabbath, you must gather two 
omers full, and keep one of them 
for the Sabbath; for God will send 
no manna on the Sabbath day.” 
Some of the people would not be¬ 
lieve Moses; they determined to 
try, and keep the manna till the 
morrow, and see if it would be 








72 


EEPHIDI1T. 


good. But, in the morning, when 
the people looked at the manna they 
had kept, they found that it was 
full of worms, and smelt badly; 
they could not eat it, but threw it 
away. And did not the manna 
saved for the Sabbath become bad ? 
No ; because God kept it good; He 
did not wish His Holy Sabbath to 
be broken, and He had power to 
keep the manna fresh and sweet if 
He pleased. But there were some 
more disobedient people who would 
not believe Moses, nor attend to 
God’s command. They went out 
on the Sabbath day to gather man¬ 
na. Did they find it ? No: God 
did not send any, and they went 
home again empty; and God was 
angry with them for their disobe¬ 
dience. 

The Sabbath is not a day on 
which we ought to do any work. 
It is God’s day; He kindly gave it 


to us, that we might have more 
time to attend to our souls, and to 
think of God, and death, and judg¬ 
ment, and heaven, and hell. We 
should not think much of our food 
on this holy day; we should pre¬ 
pare it the day before, as God told 
the Israelites to do. We have our 
food from God, as they had. It is 
not rained down from heaven, be¬ 
cause God does not now work mira¬ 
cles ; and we live in a country where 
there is plenty of corn to make 
bread. But God sends down rain 
from heaven to make the corn grow, 
and he makes the sun shine to 
ripen it. He alone can cause the 
grass to spring up, and give food 
to the beasts of the field. We must 
pray, “ Give us day by day our daily 
bread.” Luke xi. 3. And when we 
eat it, we must thank God who gave 
it, and not wish for more nor better 
food than He sends. 


cCCO 


XXXVI. 

E PH I DIM, 


HE Israelites now went 
on, through the wilder¬ 
ness of Sin, to Rephidim. 
How did they know the 
way? God went before 
them in the pillar of cloud by day 
and in the pillar of fire by night. 
When the pillar stopped, they stop¬ 
ped; and when the pillar moved, 
they moved, and followed it wher¬ 
ever it went. While we live, we are 
like the Israelites, travelling in the 
wilderness; but, if we are God’s 
people, we need not fear, because 
He is always by us. He does not 
go before us in a pillar of cloud and 


fire ; but His hand is always over us 
to guide and keep us, and His eye 
sees us wherever we are. We must 
pray God to lead us in the right 
way, in the way to Heaven. 

There was no water at Rephidim ; 
and the people murmured again, 
and were very angry with Moses, 
and very unthankful to God. Then 
Moses cried to God, and He heard 
the prayer. God told him to go to 
Mount Horeb, and strike the rock; 
and He promised that then water 
should come out. Moses obeyed 
God, and struck the rock, and water 
came out. It was God’s power that 










JETHRO'S VISIT. 


73 


did this miracle; not Moses, nor 
the rod, but God alone, could bring 
water out of the rock. 

There were some wicked people, 
who lived not far from this wilder¬ 
ness, called Amalekites, and now 
they came to fight with Israel, in 
Rephidim. Moses called Joshua 
his servant, and said to him, 
“ Choose men, and go and fight with 
the Amalekites; and I will go up 
to the top of the mountain, with 
the rod of God in my hand.” So 
Joshua and the soldiers went to 
fight; and Moses and Aaron, and 
Hur went up to the top of the hill. 
What did they do there? Moses 
held up his hand, with the rod of 
God in it, and prayed God to give 


the Israelites power to conquer 
their enemies. God heard Moses 
pray, and put strength into the sol¬ 
diers’ hands, and gave them power 
over their enemies. But Moses was 
tired of holding up his hands ; they 
were heavy, and fell down, and 
then the Amalekites became strong, 
and the Israelites became weak. 
But Aaron and Hur took a large 
stone, and put it under Moses, and 
he sat upon it; and Aaron and Hur 
held up his hands all the day 
till the sun went down. And 
God blessed the Israelitish soldiers; 
they conquered their enemies, and 
drove all the wicked Amalekites 
away. 


®OOC5o 


XXXVII. 




ETHP v o’ S 


y isit. 



OME time before Moses 
and the Israelites went 
out of Egypt, Moses had 
sent home his wife Zip- 
porah, and his two sons to 
Jethro, in Midian. They had not 
seen all the wonderful things God 
had done for His people in Egypt, 
and at the Red Sea, and in the wil¬ 
derness. But when Jethro heard 
of all these wonders, he called Zip- 
porah and her two sons, and they 
all went together to meet the Israel¬ 
ites in the wilderness. Moses was 
glad to see his family again; and 
he kissed them, and brought them 
into the tent, and talked with them. 
Moses had much to say; he told 
them of all God had done to the 
wicked Egyptians; of the ten 
plagues He had sent; of His mercy 


to the Israelites, when He destroyed 
the first-born; of the lamb’s blood 
sprinkled upon the doors, which 
saved those who believed. Then 
Moses told them about the Red Sea, 
and how the Israelites passed 
through on dry ground ; and about 
the destruction of the Egyptians, 
and the safety of God’s people in 
the wilderness. He showed them 
the pillar which guided, and the 
manna which fed the Israelites 
every day. Jethro was glad to hear 
all this; and he blessed and praised 
God, who had done these great and 
wonderful things. 

In the morning, Jethro went 
with Moses to the place "where he 
judged the people. Moses was not 
idle: he had much to do. All the 
people came to him, to tell him 







74 


MOUNT SINAI. 


their wants and their sorrows, and 
to ask his advice. And Moses heard 
them all patiently, and talked kind¬ 
ly to them, and told them what 
they ought to do, and what they 
ought not to do. All day, Moses 
sat to judge the people; he was 
tired and weary, hut not impatient; 
no, he was glad to be useful to God’s 
people, and did not think about 
his own comfort. Moses was not 
selfish. But when Jethro saw him 
so tired, and weary, he said to him, 


“It is not right for thee to judge 
the people alone; choose some men 
to help thee. Thou shalt teach the 
people the holy law of God, and 
His words and commands ; but let 
the other men help thee, to judge 
in little things.” So Moses did as 
Jethro said, and chose some good 
and wise men to help him. in his 
work. Then Jethro took leave of 
Moses, and Zipporah, and her sons, 
and went home to Midian. 


XXXVIII. 


O U NT 

HE Israelites now came 
into the wilderness of 
Sinai, and pitched their 
tents before the moun¬ 
tain. Moses went up 
into the mountain, and God talked 
to him there. God said, “ Go, and 
tell the Israelites what wonderful 
things I have done for them, in 
saving them from the Egyptians, 
and bringing them here. They are 
my own people; and if they will 
love and obey me, I will keep them 
always, and give them all they want; 
and they shall be my children, and 
I will be their Father.” Moses told 
the people what God said, and they 
all answered, “We will obey the 
Lord.” Then God said again to 
Moses, “ Go, and tell the people to 
make themselves ready for the third 
day: for then I will come down 
upon the mountain to speak to 
them. They shall not go up, nor 
touch the mountain; whoever 
touches it shall be put to death. 
When the trumpet sounds, they 


I N Al. 

shall come up to the mount.” The 
people obeyed; they all washed 
their clothes, and made themselves 
ready for the third day. Why ? 
Because God was coming, the holy 
God; the people were to remember 
how great and wonderful He is, and 
how weak and sinful they were: 
and to come before God with rev¬ 
erence. 

In the morning, the Israelites 
looked towards the mountain; a 
thick black cloud was over it; and 
fire, and smoke, and lightning came 
out of the mountain, and all the 
ground shook. The people were 
very much frightened; but the 
trumpet sounded, and then Moses 
brought them all out, and made 
them stand round the mountain. 
The trumpet sounded louder and 
louder, and Moses spoke, and God’s 
voice answered him. Then the 
Lord came down on Mount Sinai, 
and called Moses ; and Moses went 
up. God said, “ Tell the people 
again, not to touch the mountain; 










THE FIKST FOUR COMMANDMENTS. 


75 


but thou shalt come up, and Aaron 
with thee.” Then Moses went 
down, and told them. 

It was a very fearful thing to see 
the great mountain smoking, and 
the fire and lightning coming out 
of the thick black darkness. Why 
was it so fearful? Because God 
was there; the holy, powerful God; 
God who cannot look upon sin, and 
who has power to punish all those 
who disobey Him. “Our God is a 
consuming fire.” Hebrews xii. 29. 


The Israelites trembled before Him; 
and we must tremble too, if we 
have not been washed from our sins 
in the blood of Jesus. We have no 
power to escape; we cannot save 
ourselves from the anger of a holy 
God; but if we believe in Jesus, we 
are safe. We need not fear then, 
because God promises to accept all 
those who come to Jesus alone for 
salvation. “Believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be 
saved.” Acts xvi. 31. 


XXXIX. 


y H E y I R S T y OU R pOMMANDMENTS 


Moses and all the 
3 stood round the 
tain. They did not 
od, but they heard 
His voice speaking to 
them. He said, “I am the Lord 
who brought thee out of the land 
of Egypt: thou shalt have no other 
gods but me.” There is only one 
true God; He is eternal; without 
beginning, without end. He is 
everywhere; He sees all we do; 
and He knows all things, past, 
present and future. He knows even 
our thoughts; we cannot hide any¬ 
thing from Him. And He is a 
holy God; He hates sin, and He 
says, that all whose sins are not 
washed away, must perish: because 
sin cannot be with Him in heaven. 
But He is a very kind and merciful 
God too; He is a father to us all: 
He made us, and keeps us, wherever 
we are, and gives us all we have. 
But the best gift of God is the gift 
of His dear Son to die for us; to 
bear the punishment of our sins; 


to cleanse us from our iniquities in 
His blood, that, if we believe in 
Jesus, we may have eternal life. 
And God gives us another gift; 
His Holy Spirit, to come into our 
hearts, to make us holy. We are 
commanded to love and worship 
this powerful and holy God: God 
the Father, Son, and Spirit; three 
persons in one God. We must love 
Him better than all the world; for 
if we love anything better than 
God, we make an idol of that thing. 
Some people love riches, and make 
money their idol; some love pleas¬ 
ure, and make the amusements of 
the world their idols; and many, 
very many, poor ignorant people, in 
countries where the true God is not 
known, love and worship images of 
wood and stone, which cannot help 
nor save them. We must thank 
God, who has given us the Bible to 
teach us about Him; and pray to 
Him to help us to love and serve 
Him with all our hearts; and ask 
Him to send Missionaries to heathen 









76 


THE FIRST FOUR COMMA NDMEHTS. 


lands, to teach poor idolators to 
love Him too. 

The Second Commandment says, 
“Thou shalt not make any graven 
images; thou shalt not bow down to 
them, nor worship them.” It is 
wrong to try to make any likeness or 
picture of God; He is too holy, too 
wonderful for us; we cannot tell 
what He is; He is not like man; He 
is a Spirit, and when we worship 
Him, we must worship Him in spirit, 
and remember what a great and 
holy God He is. He has said in His 
holy Word, “ To whom then will 
ye liken God? or what likeness 
will ye compare unto Him ? ” “ Ex¬ 
alt ye the Lord our God, and 
worship at his footstool; for He is 
holy” 

The Third Commandment says, 
“ Thou shalt not take the name of 
the Lord thy God in vain.” To 
take God’s name in vain, is to dis¬ 
honor Him, and not to respect His 
word, and His house, and His day. 
We must be serious and thoughtful 
when we read the Bible; it is God’s 
book, and we ought to honor and 
love it very much. And when we 
go to church, we must remember it 
is God’s house, a holy place, and 
therefore we must not idly look 


about, nor think of worldly things. 
And when we kneel down to pray, 
we must remember that we are 
speaking to God, to the holy God, 
who will not hear us if we do not 
pray with our hearts. And on God’s 
day, we must not do our own pleas¬ 
ure, nor business; but give our 
time to God, and pray to Him, and 
read His word, because all is holy 
that belongs to God. 

The Fourth Commandment says, 
“Remember the Sabbath day to 
keep it holy.” When God had made 
all things, He rested on the seventh 
day, and blessed it, and made it 
holy, and commanded us to keep it 
holy. No work must be done on 
the Sabbath; all must be finished 
the day before. The Israelites were 
commanded not to go out and look 
for manna on the Sabbath morning, 
and God sent none on that day. 
But Sunday ought to be a very 
happy day to us, because holy things 
are much better and pleasanter than 
the things of the world; and the 
Bible is better than any other book. 
It is pleasant to go to church, where 
the Bible is read and preached, and 
where all God’s people love to praise 
and pray to Him together. 



MOSES AND THE TEN COMMAND- 



Tissoi Picture Society, New York. Copyright by de Brunoff, 1904. 

“And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, 
behold, the skin of his face shone.” 
























































THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 


77 


XL. 


X H E J^AST X IX OMMANDMENTSt 



HE Fifth Commandment 
says, “ Honor thy father 
and thy mother” Parents 
take great care of their 
children when they are 
little. Children then must love 
these kind parents, and obey them 
in all things. They should do what 
their fathers or mothers tell them 
to do; and must be very kind and 
affectionate to them. And when 
the parents grow sick or old, the 
children must nurse and take care 
of them, and do all they can to 
comfort and make them happy. 

The Sixth Commandment is, 
“ Thou shalt do no murder.” Cain 
was the first murderer; he killed his 
brother, because his own works were 
evil, and his brother’s righteous. 
God commands all murderers to be 
put to death. They are brought 
before the judge, and condemned, 
and executed; and their souls go 
before God to be judged at His 
throne. But St. John says, “He 
that hateth his brother is a mur¬ 
derer.” 1 John iii. 15. Anger, and 
hatred, and passion, are like mur¬ 
der; people begin by being angry 
and passionate, and then, perhaps, 
they may strike and kill. We must 
pray God to take away our wicked 
passions, and to make us gentle, and 
kind, and forgiving. 

The Seventh Commandment says, 

“ Thou shalt not commit adultery.” 
This speaks to husbands and wives, 
and tells them to love one another, 
and to live together in peace. Wives 
must obey their husbands, and try 
to do all they wish, and never to 


make them angry or unhappy. And 
husbands must love their wives, and 
take care of them, and be very kind 
and gentle to them. Husbands and 
wives must love, and fear, and wor¬ 
ship God together, and teach theii 
families to do so too. 

The Eighth Commandment is, 
“ Thou shalt not steal.” We read 
in the Bible about many people who 
stole; and we hear now, very often, 
of wicked thieves and robbers. But 
God’s eye is upon thieves and liars. 
He sees men, and women, and little 
children too, when they steal; if 
they do it slily, or in the dark, He 
can see them; and if their wicked¬ 
ness is not known now, it will all be 
known in the day of judgment, 
when the book of remembrance will 
be opened and read. It will be very 
dreadful then to be punished by 
God, and sent away far from Him 
and Heaven for ever. We should 
pray God to help us always to re¬ 
member that His eye is upon us; 
and ask Him to keep us from tak¬ 
ing anything not our own. Many 
children have begun by taking little 
things, and grown up to be thieves. 
It is better to die of hunger than to 
steal. 

The Ninth Commandment is, 

“ Thou shalt not bear false witness.* 
This teaches us not to tell lies, noi 
deceive, nor say what is not true. 
God says that all liars shall be sent 
to hell. He knows the truth, and 
we cannot deceive Him. And this 
commandment, too, teaches us not 
to accuse others falsely, nor to tell 
tales of them which are not true. 









THE LAW. 


78 

TOll r 

The Tenth Commandment is, 
“ Thou shalt not covet.” It is 
wrong to wish for what belongs to 
other people. God has given us 
what is best for us, and we must not 
desire more. He gives riches to 
some people, and not to others. 
Why? We cannot tell; but we 
know that God is wise, and does all 
rightly; and we should remember, 
that it is He who gives us everything 
we have. If others have more, we 
must not envy them, nor wish for 


their money, nor for anything that 
belongs to them. Coveting is often 
the beginning of stealing. People 
see a thing, then they desire it, and 
perhaps, if God’s grace does not keep 
them from sin, they at last steal it. 
We must pray God to give us con¬ 
tentment, that we may not displease 
Him by sinful wishes; for he knows 
all our thoughts, as well as our 
actions; He sees our hearts; and 
our secret sins we cannot hide from 
Him. 


XLI. 


Jhe p aw. 



HEN the Israelites saw the 
lightning, and the black¬ 
ness of the mountain, and 
heard the thunders, and 
the loud trumpet, they 
were very much afraid, and moved 
away from the mountain, and stood 
afar off. They said to Moses, “ Speak 
thou to us, and we will hear; but 
let not God speak to us, lest we die.” 
But Moses said, “ Fear not; God is 
come to prove you, and to tell you 
what you ought to do, chat you may 
learu to know and serve Him aright, 
that His blessing msiy be upon you.” 
We are all poor helpless sinners be¬ 
fore God; our own obedience cannot 
take us to Heaven, for we have dis¬ 
obeyed God many times. How then 
can we go to heaven ? Jesus Christ 
alone can take us there. He bore 
the punishment of our sins upon the 
cross, and His blood can cleanse us; 
He was perfectly holy, He kept all 
the commandments; and, if we be¬ 
lieve in Him, God will accept us for 
His righteousness’ sake. But we 


must try to be like Jesus: we must 
wish and strive to be holy. We 
must ask Him for all these things, 
that we may be made His own dear 
children by faith in Christ Jesus. 
And then we need not fear; because 
God has promised to save all who 
believe; and we shall not tremble 
at the day of judgment, when we 
stand before His throne, because, if 
our sins have all been washed away 
in Jesus’ blood, and our hearts made 
new and clean by the Holy Spirit, 
we shall hear our Saviour say, 
“ Come, ye blessed;” and we shall be 
taken up to heaven, away from sin 
and sorrow for ever. 

When God had finished speaking, 
Moses came and told the people all 
He had said, and they answered, 
“We will obey the Lord; we will 
do what He commands us.” Then 
Moses wrote all the words of God: 
and the Israelites offered sacrifices 
unto the Lord. Moses read the 
book of the law to the people, and 
they said again, “ All that the Lord 








THE GOLDEN CALE. 


79 


hath said, we will do, and be obe¬ 
dient.” Then Moses and Aaron, 
and some of the elders of Israel, 
went up towards the mountain, and 
there they saw an appearance of the 
bright glory of God; but this could 
not hurt them, because God kept 


them safely; and they stayed there 
before Him, and did eat and drink. 
Then God told Moses alone to come 
up to Him, to receive the tables of 
stone upon which God had written 
the Ten Commandments. 


cco 


XLII. 


y h e 


? 


OLDEN 


F 


AL F. 


OSES waited six days upon 
the mountain, with Josh¬ 
ua his servant; and then 
God called to him out of 
the cloud, and Moses went 
up, and was there in the mount 
forty days and forty nights. Moses 
was not afraid to be with God, be¬ 
cause He was his father and his 
friend. We have no need to fear, 
when our sins are forgiven, and 
when we are at peace with God 
through Jesus Christ. 

What did God say to Moses when 
he was in the mountain ? He gave 
him many directions about the tab¬ 
ernacle which the Israelites were to 
make, where God was to be wor¬ 
shipped; and about the sacrifices, 
and priests, and the holy things 
which we shall soon read about; 
and then He gave Moses the two 
tables of stone, written with the 
finger of God. The people waited 
a long time for Moses, and won¬ 
dered he did not come down to 
them, and then they began to be 
tired and impatient, and they went 
to Aaron and said, “ Moses is gone 
away; we do not know what is be¬ 
come of him; make gods for us, 
and they shall go before us.” Did 
Aaron tell them how wicked and 


disobedient they were ? No; Aaron 
sinned too, and let the people sin. 
He told them to give him their 
golden earrings which were in their 
ears ; so they brought them to Aaron, 
and he made them into a golden 
calf. Then the people said, “ These 
be the gods who brought us up from 
Egypt;” and Aaron built an altar, 
and offered sacrifices to the calf, and 
made a feast; and the people ate 
and drank, and played before the 
image. They had soon forgotten 
the holy command of God, which 
He spoke to them from the mount, 
“ Thou shalt not make any graven 
image.” They had forgotten their 
own promise, which they made to 
Moses, “We will obey the Lord.” 
They had forgotten to ask God’s 
help to teach them to serve Him. 
But did not God see ? Was not He 
angry ? Yes; He saw all; for His 
eyes are in every place; He knew 
when He was talking to His servant 
Moses, what His disobedient people 
were doing; and He said to Moses, 
“ Go down ; the people have forgot¬ 
ten me, and they have made a gold¬ 
en calf, and worship it. I am angry 
with these disobedient people ; I 
will destroy them; but I will keep 
thee, and make of thee a great 












80 


THE IDOLATORS PUNISHED. 


nation.” But Moses prayed God to 
forgive these sinful people, and to 
remember His servants Abraham, 
and Isaac, and Jacob, and His pro¬ 
mises to tnem. Then God beard 
Moses’ prayer, and did not destroy 
them all. 

So Moses took the tables in his 
hands, and went down again to 
Joshua. Joshua said, “There is a 
noise in the campbut he did not 
know what the noise was. Moses 
listened, and said, “It is a singing 
that I hear;” and when they came 
near, they saw the golden calf, and 
the people playing, and dancing, 
and singing before it. Then Moses 


was angry, and he cast the tables 
out of his hands, and broke them 
under the mountain. Why was he 
angry ? To see that these people 
had so soon forgotten their kind 
God, and their own promise to love 
and serve Him. They were helpless 
sinners, and we are so too. When 
we trust to our own strength and 
goodness, and forget to ask for the 
Holy Spirit to help and teach us, 
we are as forgetful of God, as un¬ 
thankful, and as wicked as these 
Israelites were. Let us pray to God 
every day to keep us from sin, and 
to enable us to live always in His 
fear and love. 


-OOOo. 

XLIII. 


Jhe Jdolato 

HEN Moses saw Aaron, 
he asked him why he had 
done this great sin. Aar¬ 
on did not humbly con¬ 
fess his own wickedness, 
but tried to excuse himself, and said, 
“The people gave me their gold, 
and told me to make gods for them; 
and I cast the gold into the fire, 
and there came out this calf.” But 
Moses took the calf and burnt it, 
and ground it into powder; then he 
sprinkled the powder upon water, 
and made the wicked idolators 
drink it. Moses was sorry to pun¬ 
ish these sinful men ; but he knew it 
was right, because God commanded 
him; so he cried to all the people, 
and said, “Who is on the Lord’s 
side?” Then the tribe of Levites 
came to Moses, and said, they were. 
And what did Moses command them 
to do ? He gave them a very fear- 


RS J'UNISHE D. 

ful command, but one which must 
be obeyed; he said, “ Take your 
swords, and go through the camp, 
and kill these wicked idolators; 
your brothers, and companions, and 
neighbors; spare them not, they 
must all die.” Then the Levites 
went, and did as Moses commanded; 
and 3000 men were killed that day. 

Then Moses spoke gently to the 
rest of the people; for he loved 
them, and wished them to be for¬ 
given, that God might bless them 
again. Moses said, “ You have 
sinned a great sin; you have made 
God very angry; but I will now go 
up to Him, and ask Him to forgive 
you; perhaps He will hear my 
prayer.” Then Moses went up, and 
prayed, and cried to God, and said, 
“ 0 Lord, these people have sinned 
a great sin; but now, I pray thee, 
forgive them, and blot out their sin.” 








THE NEW TABLES. 


81 


And did God forgive ? Yes; God 
is always willing to hear prayer; 
always ready to forgive. He told 
Moses to go down, and lead the 
people on their journey towards Ca¬ 
naan, and he promised to guide 
them as he had done before. Then 
the Lord told Moses to come up 
again into the mountain, and to 
bring with him two tables of stone, 
like the first tables which he broke. 
Moses obeyed, and went up to 
Mount Sinai very early in the 
morning; and God came down in 
a cloud, and stood near him, and 
talked to him. Moses could not see 
the bright glory of the Lord; no 
living man can see that; but in 
Heaven we shall see Him face to 
face, and behold His glory for ever. 

God passed by Moses, as he stood 
on the mountain, and spoke with a 


loud voice. What did he say ? He 
told Moses, what a good, and kind, 
and gracious God He is; a God 
who loves to forgive, and who saves 
all who come to Him in faith ; but 
a very holy God too; a God that 
cannot look on sin, and who punishes 
all those who will not repent and 
turn to Him. When Moses heard 
God speak, he fell down, and wor¬ 
shipped ; and asked that great and 
holy God to forgive his sins, and the 
sins of the Israelites, and to make 
them His own people, and to keep 
and save them for ever. And did 
God hear the prayer? Yes, He 
promised to keep the Israelites still; 
and to give them the good land of 
Canaan, if they would obey and 
serve Him, and no more make and 
worship the idols which the people 
around them served and worshipped. 


cco» 


XLIY. 


Jhe e w 

OSES staid in the moun¬ 
tain again forty days; he 
neither ate nor drank, 
but God had power to 
keep him without food: 
and Moses was happy with his God, 
and loved to be there. God gave him 
many commands about what the 
people must do, and what they must 
not do; and He wrote again the 
ten commandments upon the new 
tables. When God had finished 
speaking, Moses came down from 
the mountain; and the people looked 
at him, and saw that his face was 
bright and shining; and they feared 
to come near to him. What made 
Moses’ face shine ? The brigh t glory 


Jables. 

of God, which rested upon him 
while He talked to him in the 
mountain. When Moses saw that 
it was painful for the people to look 
at him, he took a veil, and covered 
his face, and then spoke to them; 
but when Moses spoke to God, he 
put off the veil. 

Moses told the people all the com¬ 
mands of God, and showed them 
the new tables; and he spoke to 
them about the Sabbath, the holy 
day of God, when they must do no 
work, because it is a day of rest, 
holy to the Lord. Then he told 
them about the tabernacle which 
God commanded them to make, 
where they were to worship Him; 










82 


THE TABERNACLE. 


and Moses asked them to bring 
their gold, and silver, and brass, 
and blue, and purple, and scarlet, 
and the skins of animals, and beau¬ 
tiful stones; these things were to 
help to make the tabernacle, and all 
which was to be in it. The people 
were glad to bring their riches for 
the service of God; and many of 
them were very busy and industrious 
in this good work. The women 
spun hair for the curtains, and the 
men worked the stones, and the 
gold, and silver; all tried to do 
something. There was a man 
named Bezaleel, who was very wise 
in many curious works, in cutting 
stones and carving wood. This man 
loved God, and he was very glad he 
could do something in his service. 
He made all the things for the taber¬ 
nacle, and taught other men to help 
him, that the work might be done 
quicker. 

It is very pleasant, as well as 
right, to work for God. All have 
talents; all can do something. Some 
people are very wise and learned; 
they can do much. They can teach 
others; and they ought to teach 


them the things of God, to love and 
serve Him, for that alone is true 
wisdom. Good ministers work for 
God, in His church, by preaching 
and teaching the Gospel, as Bezaleel 
worked for God in making the 
tabernacle for His worship. Women 
can do something: there is no taber¬ 
nacle to work for now; but they can 
do much for the poor, by clothing 
and caring for them; and this is 
working for God, because He com¬ 
mands us to remember the poor, 
and to be kind to them for His 
sake. Little children, too, can do 
something. Perhaps the Israelitish 
children helped their mothers to 
spjn the goats’ hair, and to carry to 
their fathers the stones and wood 
which were wanted. Children can¬ 
not do much, but they may be very 
useful in helping others; and if they 
work always in the fear of God, and 
try to serve Him in all they do, He 
will love and bless them. None 
should be idle : remember, St. Paul 
tells us not to be “ slothful in busi¬ 
ness, but fervent in spirit, serving 
the Lord.” Romans xii. 11. 


XLV. 

Jh e Jabernacle, 


tabernacle was made 
boards, with bars put 
oss; and these boards 
1 bars were made of 
ttim wood covered with 
gold. At the entrance, there were 
no boards, but five pillars of shittim 
wood covered with gold. Within 
the tabernacle, under the upper end, 
were four more pillars ; a beautiful 
covering, called the vail, was hung 


over them ; and this hid th$ inside, 
which was the most holy place, “ the 
Holy of Holies.” None could go in 
there but the High Priest; and he 
went only once a year. In the Holy 
of Holies was placed the ark. The 
ark was a chest or box made of 
shittim wood, covered with gold; 
and there were rings in the sides, 
for poles to be put in when the ark 
was moved. The top of the ark was 









THE TABERNACLE. 


called the Mercy-seafc; two golden 
angels, called Cherubim, were placed 
one on each side the Mercy-seat; 
they looked over it, and their wings 
covered the top. In the ark were 
afterwards kept the tables of the 
commandments, Aaron’s rod, and a 
golden pot full of manna, which 
God commanded to be put there. 
Outside the vail, was the altar on 
which incense was burnt, the table 
on which the holy bread, called 
shew-bread, was placed, and the 
great gold candlestick. The taber¬ 
nacle stood in a large open court; 
pillars of brass surrounded it, and 
curtains were hung upon them. The 
brazen altar for burnt offerings, and 
the great laver where the priests 
washed, stood in this court. There 
were coverings and curtains to the 
tabernacle and court. Over the 
boards of the tabernacle was thrown 
a covering of fine linen beautifully 
worked in scarlet, and purple, and 
blue; over the linen, was a covering 
of goats’ hair; over this, a covering 
of rams’ skins dyed red; and another 
covering of thick skins over all. The 
people were not allowed to go into 
the tabernacle: but the priests went 
in every morning to offer incense, 
and every evening to light the 
lamps; and on the Sabbath, to take 
away the old shew-bread from the 
table, and to put on new. The 
sacrifices were offered in the court, 
where the people stood. 

This was the beautiful tabernacle 
which God taught Moses to make 
for His worship. The things in it 
were likenesses, or types, of better 
and holy things. The Holy of 
Holies was a type of Heaven, that 
holy place which we cannot now 
see; and the ark there, with the 
bright glory shining above it, was 


85 

a type of Christ. He is now in 
Heaven, and the holy angels stand 
before him, like the Cherubim over 
the ark. When the High Priest 
went into the most Holy Place, he 
sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice 
before the Mercy-seat. Jesus is our 
High Priest, and he offered a sacri¬ 
fice for our sins before he went into 
Heaven. What sacrifice did He 
offer ? He offered himself; He died 
upon the cross, and there poured 
out His blood, and bore the punish¬ 
ment of our sins. And now like 
the Israelitish High Priest, He is 
gone into the Holy Place, not into 
the Holy of Holies of the tabernacle, 
but into Heaven of which that was 
the type; and there He pleads for us 
before the Mercy-seat, the throne of 
God. 

When all was finished, God com* 
manded Moses to set up the taber¬ 
nacle. Then Moses put up the 
boards and bars, and threw the 
covering over; and took the ark 
and put it into the Holy Place, 
within the vail; then he placed the 
table outside, and put the bread 
upon it; and near the table he 
placed the candlestick, and lighted 
up the lamps. He put the golden 
altar before the vail, and burnt sweet 
incense upon it; but the altar of 
burnt offering, and the laver, he put 
in the court outside. Then Moses 
and Aaron washed at the laver: and 
the hangings were put up, and all 
was finished. A cloud covered the 
tabernacle, and the glory of the 
Lord filled it. The cloud was always 
there by day, and fire by night. 
When the cloud was taken up, the 
people journeyed; and when it staid 
upon the tabernacle, then they 
rested in their tents. 




84 


THE PRIESTS’ GARMENTS. 


XLVI. 


Jhe 


f 


R I E S T S 


p A 


R M E N T S 



HEN the people were still 
at Sinai, after the taber¬ 
nacle was set up, God 
spoke again to Moses, 
and gave him many com¬ 
mands about his worship and ser¬ 
vice. God commanded that Aaron 
and his sons should be His priests 
or ministers. They were brought 
into the tabernacle, and there con¬ 
secrated for the holy work. So 
now, ministers of the gospel are 
ordained and set apart, before they 
begin to teach and preach to the 
people. It is a holy office, and min¬ 
isters ought to think much about 
it, and to pray to God for His help 
and blessing; and the people ought 
to pray, too, that God would give 
holy wisdom and power to His 
ministers, and make them faithful 
teachers of His word. All the 
Israelites stood at the door of the 
court of the tabernacle ; and Moses 
brought Aaron and his sons to the 
great laver, and there washed them 
with water. The water in the laver 
had power only to wash their bodies; 
but it was a type of the blood which 
cleanseth from sin, and of the Spirit 
which sanctifies, or makes holy. 
Ministers should be washed in the 
blood of Christ, and have their 
hearts made clean by the Holy 
Spirit 

Then Moses put upon Aaron the 
holy garments which God com¬ 
manded to be made; the coat, the 
girdle, the robe, the ephod, the 
breastplate, and the mitre. The 
coat was a long linen robe, with 
sleeves, and with a girdle worked in 


blue, and purple, and scarlet. The 
robe was a long, blue, linen gown, 
without sleeves; round the bottom 
were golden bells, and figures of 
pomegranates; the bells sounded 
when the High Priest went into 
the Holy Place. The ephod was a 
short robe, worked in blue, and 
purple, and scarlet and gold ; it was 
made of linen, and round it was 
worn a beautiful girdle worked like 
the ephod. The breastplate was 
made of cloth and was very thick. 
It had four rings of gold to join it 
to the ephod; twelve beautiful stones 
were set in the breastplate, three in 
a row; there were four rows of 
stones, and every stone had the 
name of one of the tribes of Israel 
written or cut upon it. The tribes 
of Israel were the descendants of the 
twelve sons of Jacob. These stones 
in the breastplate were called TJrim 
and Thummim, that is, very light, 
perfect and beautiful things. Aaron 
wore the breastplate upon his heart 
when he went into the Holy Place, 
because he was to remember the 
people there, and pray for them to 
the Lord. 

The mitre was a linen turban, 
and in the front of it was a plate 
of gold, on which was' Written, 
“Holiness to the Lord;” because 
the priests, the ministers of the 
Lord, must be holy in all they do 
and say, wherever they are. Aaron’s 
sons did not wear all the beautiful 
robes which their father wore. Only 
the High Priest had the ephod, and 
breastplate, and robe, and mitre. 
But Moses put upon the other 




THE PRIESTS. 


85 


priests the coat, and the girdle, and 
the bonnet or turban. All these 
holy and beautiful garments were 
put upon Aaron and his sons, to 
teach them how holy they ought to 
be, if they were honored to be 
priests and ministers of the Lord. 


All God’s ministers, and all God’s 
people, must be so too; they must 
have on Christ’s righteousness, and 
be renewed and sanctified by the 
Holy Spirit, or they cannot enter 
into Heaven. 


XLVII. 


Jh E 


Y F^I E S T S . 


HEN Moses had clothed 
Aaron and his sons with 
the priestly garments, he 
took oil, and sprinkled it 
upon the altar, and the 
laver, and upon everything in the 
tabernacle. Then he poured the oil 
upon Aaron’s head, and anointed 
him. The oil was a type of the in¬ 
fluence of the Holy Spirit, who 
sanctifies the ministers of the Lord, 
and prepares them for their holy 
work. Afterwards, a bullock was 
brought; and Aaron and his sons 
laid their hands upon it, humbly 
confessing their sinfulness before 
God, and acknowledging that they 
wanted to be washed from their ini¬ 
quity, and needed to have a sacrifice 
offered for them. Then the bul¬ 
lock was killed, and Moses took the 
blood, and sprinkled the altar, and 
poured it out beneath. Then a ram 
was brought; and Aaron and his 
sons laid their hands upon its head; 
and it was slain, and the blood 
sprinkled upon the altar. Another 
ram was brought; and again Aaron 
and his sons laid their hands upon 
its head, then it was killed, and 
Moses took the blood, and put it on 
Aaron’s right ear, and on the thumb 


of his right hand, and on the great 
toe of his right foot; and Moses 
did so to Aaron’s sons too. Then 
Moses took bread out of a basket, 
and oiled cakes, and the fat of the 
sacrifice, and gave all to Aaron 
and to his sons, to be presented to 
the Lord; afterwards Moses took 
them from them again, and burnt 
all upon the altar, as an offering to 
the Lord. Then Moses took the 
oil and the blood, and sprinkled 
them upon Aaron and his sons, to 
sanctify them. The oil was a type 
of the sanctifying power of God’s 
Holy Spirit in the heart; and the 
blood was a type of the blood of 
Jesus, which cleanseth from all sin. 

Aaron and his sons were sinners, 
as we all are; they needed to have 
their sins washed away, and their 
hearts renewed; they needed a sac¬ 
rifice, as well as the people; and 
they were taught that the rams, and 
lambs, and bullocks had no power 
to take away sin, but that they must 
look in faith to the great sacrifice 
which should, at a future time, be 
offered up for the sins of all the 
world. The priests of Israel soon 
died, and passed away; but our 
High Priest continues for ever. He 











86 


THE SACRIFICES AND FEASTS. 


does not, as they did, offer sacrifices 
daily for sin; one sacrifice was 
enough, when He offered up Him¬ 


self on the cross; but He still lives; 
He lives in Heaven, in the holy place, 
and there makes intercession for us. 


XLVIII. 


The T a c r i f i c ] 

soon after Aaron and 
MM his sons had been conse- 
VAV/jr crated, they began their 
holy work. God’s minis¬ 
ters and people must not 
he idle; all have something to do 
for God, and it should be begun di¬ 
rectly. The work of the priests 
was to offer the sacrifices, and at¬ 
tend to the holy services of God in 
the tabernacle. The sacrifice of a 
lamb was offered every morning and 
every evening. This teaches us, 
that we need to have our sins washed 
away every day we live; when we 
rise in the morning, and when we 
go to bed at night, we ought to pray 
for grace and pardon, and for every 
blessing which we want. We should 
thank God for all He has given us, 
and ask Him still to give us that 
which He sees right we should have. 
This was what the Israelites were 
taught to do; and if they prayed 
in faith, God heard their prayer, and 
gave them His blessing. 

On the Sabbath day, two more 
lambs were offered, besides the 
morning and evening sacrifices. We 
should love to worship God every 
day: but we should pray to Him, 
and think about Him, more on Sun¬ 
day than on other days. The Sab¬ 
bath is a day of holy rest; it belongs 
to God, and it must all be spent in 
His service. The Israelites were 
not allowed to do any work on 


; S AND y EASTS. 

God’s holy day; and we should tr^ 
to be like them, and be very thank¬ 
ful that God has given us a Sabbath, 
on which we may learn to know 
and serve Him better. 

In the beginning of every month, 
more sacrifices were to be offered; 
two bullocks, one ram, seven lambs, 
and a kid. Besides all these sacri¬ 
fices, there were holy days and feasts, 
which God commanded to be kept. 

There were three feasts in the 
year, when God commanded all the 
men of Israel to appear before Him. 
First, the feast of the Passover, in 
remembrance of the angel passing 
over the houses of the Israelites, 
when he destroyed the first-born of 
Egypt. They were to take a lamb, 
and eat it as they did in Egypt; 
and to offer sacrifices, and to keep 
seven days holy to the Lord. This 
feast was in the spring of the year. 
The paschal lamb was a type of 
Jesus Christ slain for our sins, to 
save our souls from destruction. 

Second, The feast of weeks, or 
Pentecost, fifty days after the Pass- 
over. This feast was in the summer, 
when the corn was reaped; and the 
people were then to give some of 
their fruits as a thank-offering to 
the Lord. It is God who gives us 
all our blessings, and we must 
thank and praise Him for them. 
The Israelites in the feast of weeks, 
were to remember that solemn time 






THE SACRIFICES AND FEASTS. 


87 


when God gave them the law from 
Sinai, fifty days after they went 
from Egypt. It was on the feast of 
Pentecost, that the disciples of 
Jesus, many years after, met at Je¬ 
rusalem, when the Holy Ghost came 
upon them, and gave them power to 
speak different languages. 

Third , In the autumn, the Israel¬ 
ites were commanded to keep an¬ 
other holy time. The feast began 
by the blowing of trumpets, to call 
the people to attend. A few days 
after, was the great day of Atone¬ 
ment. Then they were to remember 
their sins, and repent, and be sorry 
for them. No work might be done; 
and sacrifices were to be offered, 
bulls, and goats, and lambs, to teach 
the people that their sins must be 
washed away in the blood of the 
Great Sacrifice, to whom they must, 
in faith, look for salvation. And 
there are days when we should re¬ 
member our sins, and pray for for¬ 
giveness too. Every day we ought 
to do so, but some days more par¬ 
ticularly. The beginning of the 
year, and our own birthdays, are 
very solemn times; when we should 
remember our past sins, and pray 


earnestly to God to wash them all 
away in the blood of Jesus, and to 
give us grace to love and serve Him 
better for the future. 

Five days after the day of Atone¬ 
ment, God commanded the Israel¬ 
ites to keep the feast of Tabernacles. 
This was a time of joy for seven 
days. The Israelites were to gather 
branches from the trees, palm trees, 
and willow trees, and to make 
booths to live in, seven days. The 
women and children staid at their 
own houses; but the men dwelt in 
the booths, praising and thanking 
God, till the seven days were ended; 
and then they went home again to 
their families. The booths were 
not their homes; they lived in them 
only a short time. The Israelites 
were taught by this to remember 
the time when they lived in tents in 
the wilderness; and to thank God, 
in their pleasant houses in Canaan, 
for having brought them safely 
home. The home of God’s people 
is above, in the Heavenly Canaan; 
there they will live for ever, and go 
out no more into a world of pain, 
and sin, and sorrow. 



88 


THE JUBILEE. 


XLIX. 


J"H E jJ U 

OD commanded the Is¬ 
raelites, when they should 
be safe in Canaan, not to 
sow their lands every 
seventh year. The land 
was to rest that year: they must 
not plough, nor dig, nor sow, nor 
dress their vineyards. What would 
they do for food ? They must trust 
in God; He could make the land 
fruitful without their care; and He 
promised to keep them, and give 
them all they wanted. The fruits 
ripened, and the corn came up; 
and then they gathered, and ate, 
and had plenty. But they were 
not to be selfish: they were not to 
keep the good things which God 
gave them to themselves: no, they 
were to divide them among them¬ 
selves, and their servants, and the 
poor who had no possessions of 
their own. 

Every fiftieth year among the 
Israelites was called the year of 
Jubilee, a time of rejoicing; the 
trumpet was blown loudly on the 
day of Atonement, that all the peo¬ 
ple might hear. If any man had 
lost or sold his possessions, he was 


BILEEi 

to have it again at the Jubilee; and 
if a poor Israelite had become a 
servant, his master was to let him 
go, and all that belonged to him. 
These laws were to teach the people 
kindness to their neighbors, and 
trust in God. 

And God commands us now to 
trust to Him for all we want, and 
to be kind to the poor, and to give 
of what we have to those who have 
nothing. Those are happy families, 
where all is love: God’s blessing is 
upon them. There is a family 
above, in which there is no sorrow 
nor unhappiness, because there is 
no anger, no unkindness. That 
family is the family of God in Hea¬ 
ven. God is love; the angels are 
full of love; and God’s own people 
are full of love too; they love Him, 
and they love one another. We 
must pray God to put love into our 
hearts now, holy love to Him, and 
to all; that when we die, we may 
go to that world of love, to live 
there in peace and joy for ever: 
then we shall enjoy all that happi¬ 
ness which was typified by the year 
of Jubilee. 



I 




NADAB AND ABIHU. 


89 


L. 


A D A B AN 

■ HERE were two of Aaron’s 
sons who were priests, 
whose names were Nadab 
and Abihu. They were 
not humble and holy men 
like their father, but proud and dis¬ 
obedient. Without God’s command, 
they ran into the tabernacle, with 
their censers in their hands, and 
offered strange fire, taken from the 
wrong place, and burnt incense be¬ 
fore the Lord. God was angry with 
this rebellion, and he sent fire upon 
them, which struck them dead in a 
moment. Aaron saw his wicked 
sons die. But Moses told Aaron, 
that God had said He would he 
sanctified by His priests, and that 
when they came before Him, they 
must come with reverence: Nadab 
and Abihu had sinned, and God 
had punished them, and therefore 
Aaron and his sons were not to 
mourn, nor rend their clothes, but 
submit quietly to God. Then 
Aaron held his peace; he was full 
of sorrow; but he knew that God 
had done right, and humbly sub¬ 
mitted to His will: he loved God’s 
house, and law, and glory, more 
than he loved his wicked sons. 

Parents cannot give their chil¬ 
dren new hearts; they can talk to 
them, and teach them, and tell 
them what is right, and pray for 
them; but they can do no more; 
they cannot save them; only God 
has power to do that; and therefore 
the children must themselves pray 
that their sins may be blotted out, 
and their hearts made new, and 


D Jk. B I H U. 

their souls saved; that they may 
follow their parents to Heaven. 

When Nadab and Abihu were 
killed, God gave Aaron some new 
commands, that he might not make 
God angry, as his sons had done. 
The High Priest was to go into the 
holy place, within the vail, only 
once a year, on the day of Atone¬ 
ment ; and then he was to put on 
the holy garments. He was to offer 
a bullock for a sacrifice for his own 
sin, and a goat for the sins of the 
people, and to sprinkle the blood 
upon the mercy-seat in the most 
holy place; and he was to take fire 
from the altar, and bring it within 
the vail, and burn incense before 
the Lord. Afterwards, Aaron was 
to go out, and bring another goat 
alive: and to lay both his hands 
upon the goat’s head, and confess 
his sins, and the sins of all the 
people, and put them upon the head 
of the goat. Then Aaron was to 
call a man, and tell him to lead the 
goat far away into the wilderness, 
that it might be seen no more. 
This goat was called the scape¬ 
goat. 

Aaron, the Jewish High Priest, 
was a sinner like the people, and 
needed his own sins to be washed 
away. But our great High Priest, 
of whom Aaron was the type, 
needed no sacrifice, because he was 
all holy. He offered up the sacri¬ 
fice of himself for our sins, not for 
His own; and then He went into 
the Holy Place, into Heaven, there 
to intercede for us before God. If 








90 


THE MOVING OF THE CAMP. 


we humbly come to Jesus, and ask 
Him to take away our sins, He will 
forgive them all. God will never 
remember them again; they will be 


gone for ever. God says to those 
who come in faith to Jesus; “Their 
sins and their iniquities will I re¬ 
member no more.” Heb. viii. 12. 


LI. 


H R yVLoYING 

the Israelites rested 
eir camp, waiting for 
sloud to move, every 
had his own place; 
and each tribe was to 
keep by itself. The tribe were 
placed in the form of a square; in 
the middle was the tabernacle and 
the court; to the East, near the 
tabernacle, were the tents of Moses, 
Aaron, and the priests; and the 
other Levites, the Kohathites, the 
Gershonites, and the Merarites, 
pitched their tents on the South, 
West, and North. They were near 
the tabernacle, because it was their 
business to take care of it; to take 
it down when the camps moved, 
and to put it up again when they 
rested. The other tribes pitched 
their tents farther off. On the East, 
Issachar, Judah, and Zebulun; on 
the South, Simeon, Reuben, and 
Gad; on the West, Manasseh, Eph¬ 
raim, and Benjamin; and on the 
North, Napthali, Dan, and Asher. 
When the cloud rested, the people 
rested too; but when the cloud 
moved, they were all to be ready for 
their journey. They had lived nearly 
a year at Mount Sinai; and now the 
cloud was taken up, and they all 
began to move. But there was no 
hurry nor confusion in the camps. 
All was orderly; every one knew 
what he had to do. First, the 


OF THE j^AM P, 

trumpets were sounded, and then 
the three tribes of the camp of 
Judah began to march. The taber¬ 
nacle was taken down by the Le¬ 
vites; the Gershonites carried the 
curtains, and the Merarites carried 
the heavy boards and bars, and 
put them safely into wagons. Then 
the three tribes of Reuben’s camp 
marched on; the Kohathites fol¬ 
lowed, carrying the holy vessels of 
the tabernacle. Next came Eph¬ 
raim’s camp; and, last of all, the 
camp of Dan, and all the sick and 
weak people who were unable to go 
fast. They journeyed wherever the 
cloud led them; and when they 
began to move, Moses prayed God 
to go with them; and when they 
rested, he prayed God to stay with 
them. They were always under His 
kind care and keeping, and therefore 
safe wherever they went. 

When we journey, we should ask 
God to go with us too; and if we stay 
quietly at home, we should ask Him 
to be with us there. While jye live 
in this world, we have to move often 
from place to place; it is not our 
rest; it is not our home; it is like 
the wilderness where the Israelites 
wandered so many years. But there 
is a home above; Heaven is like the 
pleasant land of Canaan which God 
promised to give His people. Wher¬ 
ever we are, we ought to seek to 








HOBAB. 


91 


have God with us; and always to 
live in His love, that He may smile 
upon us in everything we do. Then 
we shall he happy; He will keep us 


and comfort us, and bless us, while 
we live; and, when we die, take us 
to the happy home He has prepared 
for all who truly love and serve Him. 


LII. 




O B A B . 



E read before, that Jethro, 
the father-in-law of Moses, 
came to visit him soon 
after the Israelites left 
Egypt. Jethro had a son 
named Hobab, and he stayed with 
the Israelites all the time they were 
at Mount Sinai, for that was not far 
from his own country. But now 
God commanded the people to move, 
and go on into the wilderness; so 
Hobab prepared to leave them, and 
return home. But Moses did not 
wish to lose him, for he knew it 
would be for Hobab’s good to go 
with the people of God; and he 
knew, too, that Hobab might be very 
useful in telling them many things 
which they did not know, about the 
places in which they would encamp 
in the wilderness. So Moses said 
to Hobab, “ We are journeying to 
the place of which the Lord said, I 
will give it to you; come thou with 
us, and we will do thee good.” 

And was Hobab willing to go 
with them? No; at first he was 
very unwilling. He answered, “ I 
will not go, but I will depart to my 
own land, and to my kindred.” 
Then Moses tried again to persuade 
him. He said, “ Leave us not, I 
pray thee; for thou knowest how 
we are to encamp in the wilderness, 
and thou mayest be to us instead of 


eyes. And it shall be, if thou go 
with us, that what goodness the 
Lord shall do unto us, the same 
will we do unto thee.” The Bible 
does not tell us that Hobab went 
with the Israelites as Moses wished, 
but we read of the children of Je¬ 
thro living in Canaan many years 
after; perhaps they were the de¬ 
scendants of Hobab. 

But we have something to learn 
from this story of Hobab. God’s 
people now are, like the Israelites, 
traveling through a wilderness, and 
going to a place which God has pro¬ 
mised to give them. The world is 
the wilderness, and Heaven is the 
pleasant land of Canaan beyond. 
The way which they go is a safe 
and a good way, and they are guided 
in it by God’s work and God’s Spirit, 
just as the Israelites were guided 
in their way by the pillar of the 
cloud and of fire. But the people 
of God do not like to travel by them¬ 
selves to the promised land; they 
wish others to go with them. They 
say to their friends what Moses said 
to Hobab, “ Come with us, and we 
will do you good.” And those 
friends should be willing and thank¬ 
ful to go; they should, say with all 
their hearts, “We will go with you, 
for we have heard that God is with 
you.” Zech. viii. 23. 






92 


THE QUAILS. 


1 


y h e 

HE people now went away 
from Sinai, and came into 
the desert of Paran. They 
were led by the cloud and 
kept by God, and, with 
His love and blessing, they might 
have been very happy; but these 
Israelites were, like ourselves, weak, 
sinful people; and soon they began 
to be tired of serving God, and dis¬ 
contented with what He gave them. 
When they came to Taberah, they 
murmured, and God sent a fire 
which burnt many of them in their 
camps. “It is a fearful thing to 
fall into the hands of the living 
God,” for He is a “ consuming fire.” 

Moses prayed to God to forgive 
the rest of the people, and He heard 
the prayer, and quenched the fire. 
But soon again the Israelites began 
to be discontented, and cried, and 
said, “Who shall give us flesh to 
eat ? We remember the fish we ate 
in Egypt, and the cucumbers, and 
the onions, and the fruit: but now 
we have none; we have only this 
manna to eat, and we are tired of 
it; we do not like it.” Then they 
all stood at their tent doors, and 
wept; and Moses heard them. How 
wicked they were 1 God gave them 
the manna; He rained it for them 
from Heaven; they had as much as 
they wished every day; but instead 
of being thankful, they were discon¬ 
tented. 

Were they wicked ? Yes; and let 
us take care not to be like them. 
How many people now are unthank- 


LIII. 

UAI LS. 

ful, and discontented with the bless¬ 
ings God gives them, because it is 
not what they like; they wish for 
something better, like the fish, and 
onions, and fruits of Egypt. Let us 
learn to be thankful for what we 
have: whatever it is, God sends it, 
and we sin against Him if we are 
discontented with His blessings. 

Moses was angry, and tired of 
hearing their murmurings. He told 
God how unhappy he was, and that 
he had no power to give the people 
what they wanted. But God kindly 
comforted Moses, and told him that 
He would give the people flesh. He 
had given them quails before, but 
only for one day; now He said they 
should eat flesh for a month, till they 
had had enough, and were sick and 
tired of it. Then God sent a strong 
wind which brought the quails, and 
they fell close by the camp. The 
Israelites stood all day and all night, 
greedily gathering the quails, as 
many as they could. 

They had plenty of flesh now; 
but did it make them happy ? No, 
because they had not God’s blessing; 
for without His blessing there can 
be no true happiness. While they 
were eating the food, God*s anger 
fell upon them, and He sent a plague 
which killed many of these rebellious 
people. The Israelites called the 
name of the place Kibroth-Hattaa- 
vah, or the graves of those that 
sinned: and then they journeyed 
on sorrowfully to Hazeroth. 






THE SPIES. 


93 


LIV. 


X HE ? 


PIES 



HE Lord now spoke to 
Moses, and told him to 
send twelve men, one man 
from every tribe, to the 
land of Canaan,which God 
promised to give to His people Israel. 
The twelve men were to see if the 
land was good or bad; if the people 
there were strong or weak, few or 
many; and they were to come back 
again, with some of the fruits of 
Canaan, to show to the people. The 
men went away, and came to He¬ 
bron, and to a place called Eschol; 
and there they found some beautiful 
vines, covered with fine grapes. 
They cut down one branch, and put 
it upon a pole, and two men carried 
it; it was very heavy, the grapes 
were so many, and so large. They 
gathered some pomegranates and 
figs too; and after forty days, the 
spies came back again to the camp. 
All the people wished very much to 
know what the spies had seen, and 
to look at the beautiful fruit they 
had brought. The men said, “ The 
land of Canaan is a very beautiful 
and fruitful country; full of corn, 
and vines and honey; but we fear 
to go there, because the people are 
many, and they are stronger than 
we.” These men forgot that God 
was stronger than all, and that He 
had promised to fight for them, and 
to give them the land. They had 
no trust, no faith in their kind God; 
and they tried to frighten the peo¬ 
ple, that they might not go to the 
good land. But two of the spies 
were not like the others. Their 
names were Joshua and Caleb. They | 


trusted in God’s promise, and did 
not fear. They said, “ Let us go up, 
and possess the land; for we are 
able to overcome it.” But the peo¬ 
ple were frightened, and began to 
weep; they believed the spies more 
than they believed God, and forgot 
to trust to His power. Then they 
murmured against Moses and Aaron, 
and said, “Why did you bring us 
aw ay from Egypt ? We were happier 
there than here: we wish we had 
died in the wilderness. Let us 
choose a captain and return to 
Egypt.” Caleb and Joshua spoke 
gently, and tried to quiet them; but 
the people became more angry, and 
began to throw stones at Caleb and 
Joshua, to kill them. Then they 
looked up towards the tabernacle, 
and there they saw the glory of the 
Lord, and He spoke to Moses with 
a loud voice. He said He was now 
tired of His sinful people, and would 
not let them go to Canaan, but 
would destroy them in the wilder¬ 
ness. But Moses again prayed for 
them; he asked God not to forsake 
the people for whom He had done 
so many wonderful things; but to 
forgive them, and spare them still. 
God heard Moses’ prayer, and He 
promised not to destroy the people 
directly; but He said He could not 
allow them to go to Canaan, that 
good land which He had promised 
to His obedient people. His faithful 
servants Joshua and Caleb, and those 
of the Israelites who were now chil¬ 
dren, should go : but all the others 
must wander forty years in the 
wilderness, until they died. Their 






94 


THE SABBATH-BREAKER. 


children would then be grown up, 
and Joshua and Caleb should go 
with them to Canaan, without the 
sinful disobedient parents. The 
people cried very mufii when they 
heard this. It was a great punish¬ 
ment to them. They could never 
again dwell in a settled home; never 
see a pleasant country any more; 
but they must pass all their lives in 
the desert wilderness. 

The ten men who spoke evil of 
the land of Canaan, died of the 
plague before the Lord; but Caleb 
and Joshua were kept in safety. 
Then the perverse Israelites, instead 
of humbly submitting to their 


punishment, said, “ We will go to 
Canaan, the land God promised to 
us.” Moses warned them; he told 
them not to go, because God wa? 
not with them, and their enemies 
would come, and fight against them, 
and kill them; but the people would 
not attend. They went to the top 
of the hill; but Moses, and the ark 
of God, and the blessing of God, did 
not go with them. 

And had they power to take 
care of themselves ? They thought 
proudly that they had; but soon 
their enemies, the Amalekites, came 
down, and smote them, and drove 
them away. 


LY. 


T 


H E 




A B BAT H 



R E A K E R . 


BOUT this time, while 
the Israelites were still in 
the wilderness, another 
very sad thing happened 
among them. A man 
was found gathering sticks on the 
Sabbath day. The people who saw 
him, knew how wrong this was; so 
they took him directly, and brought 
him to Moses. Moses was very sorry 
to hear what the man had done; 
but he did not himself pass sentence 
upon him. God was the king and 
judge, and it was His law that had 
been disobeyed: and therefore Moses 
went to God, and told Him all, and 
asked what must be done, and how 
the man must be punished. And 
what did God say ? Perhaps we 
might think that the man had com¬ 
mitted only a little sin, and that 
God could not be very angry with 
him for gathering a few sticks on 


the Sabbath day. But we must re¬ 
member God does not look upon 
sin as we do. He cannot think dis¬ 
obedience to His laws a little sin. 
The man knew it was wrong to do 
any work on the Sabbath. He had 
stood by Mount Sinai on that dread¬ 
ful day when the Lord came down 
upon it in fire, to give His com¬ 
mands to the people; and he had 
heard Him say, “Bemember the 
Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six 
days shalt thou labor, and do-all thy 
work; but the seventh day is the 
Sabbath of the Lord thy God : in it 
thou shalt not do any work.” Exo¬ 
dus xx. 8-10. The man knew, too, 
that God had commanded the peo¬ 
ple to light no fire, and to dress no 
food, on the Sabbath; and that no 
manna was sent that day, but a 
double portion the day before, to 
teach them how very holy the Sab- 








THE REBELLION OF KORAH. 


95 


bath was. The man remembered 
all this, and yet he dared to disobey 
the command of God. This was not 
a little sin, but a dreadful act of re¬ 
bellion against God; and the pun¬ 
ishment of it was dreadful, too. 
“The Lord said unto Moses, the 
man shall be surely put to death; 
all the congregation shall stone him 
with stones. And all the congrega¬ 
tion stoned him with stones, and he 
died/’ 

This is a sad story. Learn from 
it how fearful it is to disobey the 
commands of God: and particularly 
the command which tells us to keep 
holy the Sabbath day. Many people 
break that command, even in this 
Christian country. Some buy, and 
sell, and do their daily work on Sun¬ 
day, as on other days. And others 
spend the Sabbath in idle conversa¬ 
tion and amusements. But God 
has told us not to find our own plea¬ 
sure, nor to speak our own words, 
on His holy day; and He is as angry 
with those who break the Sabbath 
secretly, at home, and in their own 
families, as with those who break it 
openly. These wicked people, per¬ 


haps, may escape unpunished for 
many weeks, and months, and years: 
but all their sins are known to God, 
and written down in the book of His 
remembrance. And if they do not 
repent, they will surely be punished 
in another world, for breaking God’s 
holy day here. 

Do you love Sunday ? Do you 
love holy duties, and holy pleasures, 
better than any others? If not, 
you cannot be fit for Heaven. The 
happy people there will spend eter¬ 
nity in praising God. This is their 
greatest enjoyment: but it would be 
no enjoyment to you, if you do not 
like to praise and worship God now. 
If you do not serve Him here, you 
cannot live with Him, and sing His 
praises hereafter. 

Pray to God to give you a new 
heart, and to make you love Him; 
and then you will love holy things, 
and holy duties, and holy pleasures, 
better than all the things of the 
world. You will be happy while 
you live; and, when you die, you will 
go to that “ rest which remaineth 
for the people of God.” Heb. iv. 9. 


LYI. 


Jhe f. 


EBELLION OF 


P 


RAH 


OON after the spies re¬ 
turned, there was a new 
rebellion among the Is¬ 
raelites. Three men (Le- 
vites), named Korah, Da- 
than, and Abiram, spoke to Moses 
and Aaron, and asked why they 
look so much power and command 
among the people, and why Aaron 
was High Priest, and had so much 


honor. Moses fell on his face when 
he heard this, and asked help from 
God to answer these wicked men; 
and then he said, “ God will tell us 
who are His; He will show whom He 
chooses to be His High Priest. Come 
to-morrow, all of you; take cen¬ 
sers, and put incense in them, and 
let God show us whom He will 
choose. You sin against the Lord 









96 


THE REBELLION" OF KORAH. 


in being so proud, and rebellious. 
He has done much for you; aud 
has honored you by letting you do 
His service in the tabernacle; why 
do you seek the priesthood, which 
He has not given you?” Then 
Moses was very much troubled, and 
he went and told his sorrows to 
God. 

The next day, Korah and all his 
people took their censers and put 
fire in them, and incense, and stood 
at the door of the tabernacle. Then 
the glory of the Lord appeared, and 
He spoke with a loud voice, and 
told all the people to go away from 
the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, 
and Abiram. All the people moved 
away, and the three wicked men 
came and stood at their tent doors, 
with their wives and children. 
Then Moses said, “God will now 
show whom He has chosen, and 
who are His people, and who have 
rebelled against Him. He will do 
a new thing; He will open the 
earth, and these wicked men shall 
go down alive into the pit, and 
perish.” As Moses spoke, the ground 
shook, and" the earth opened, and 
swallowed up Korah, and Dathan, 
and Abiram, and their wives, and 
children, and tents, and all they 
had. All went down alive into the 
great pit, and the ground closed 
again, and shut them in. Then 
God sent a dreadful fire, which 
burnt up the wicked men who were 
the friends of Korah. All the peo¬ 
ple feared very much, and fled when 
they heard the cry of those wicked 
men. But were the Israelites now 
humbled before God? No; the 


next day they murmured again, and 
said to Moses and Aaron, “You 
have killed the people of God.” 
Then the glory of the Lord ap¬ 
peared, and He spoke to Moses, and 
told him to go away quickly, that 
He might destroy the people in a 
moment. But Moses and Aaron 
fell down on their faces, and prayed 
to God. And then Moses told 
Aaron to go and make an atone¬ 
ment for the people, and to pray 
God to spare them. The plague 
now began among the Israelites; 
Aaron took a censer, and put in¬ 
cense in it, and fire from the altar, 
and ran boldly into the midst of 
the people. It was a sad sight! 
Many were dead already, and more 
were dying; but Aaron loved the 
people so much that he did not 
think about his own safety: he 
only wished to save them. He stood 
between the living and the dead, 
praying to God for His sinful peo¬ 
ple, and the plague ceased. 

When we read this story we should 
remember what our great High 
Priest has done for us. We have 
all sinned against God, as the Is¬ 
raelites did, and deserve to die, to 
perish everlastingly. But Jesus has 
made an atonement for us, to turn 
away God’s anger; and He inter¬ 
cedes for us with the Father. God 
heard Aaron’s prayer, and th£ plague 
was stayed. Aaron saved many by 
his intercession ; and Christ is able 
to save all those “who come unto 
God by Him, seeing He ever liveth 
to make intercession for them.” 
Hel, vii. 25. 



AARON’S ROD. 


97 


LVII. 


ARON 

OD told the people, that 
He would now show them 
whom He had chosen to 
be His High Priest. He 
commanded Moses to take 
twelve rods, and to write upon each 
of them the name of one of the 
twelve tribes; and on the rod 
of the tribe of Levi he was to 
write Aaron’s name, because Aaron 
was of the tribe of Levi. The rods 
were dry sticks; there was no life 
in them. God commanded them 
all to be put into the tabernacle, 
before the ark; they were to stay 
there one night, and God promised 
to make the rod of the man whom 
He chose, to bud and blossom, to 
bring forth flowers and fruit. This 
was a very wonderful thing to do; 
but Moses did not disbelieve God, 
for he knew He had power to do 
what He pleased; and, in faith and 
obedience, Moses laid up the twelve 
rods before the Lord. The next 
morning, Moses went into the taber¬ 
nacle and looked at the rods; eleven 
of them were still dry and withered ; 
but the rod of Levi, on which 
Aaron’s name was written, was full 
of buds, and blossoms, and almonds. 
Moses brought them all out, and 
called the men to take their rods; 
and when they saw that Aaron’s 
alone had budded, they knew that 
God had chosen him to be High 
Priest. The Lord told Moses to 
keep Aaron’s rod safely; to put it 
into the ark, that it might be there 


S jloD. 

always to show the rebellious people 
that Aaron was God’s chosen min¬ 
ister. The Israelites were obliged 
now to submit to the Lord. He 
had punished them for their rebel¬ 
lion ; and He had shown them, by 
a miracle, whom He had chosen for 
His priest, that they might not 
again speak against Aaron. But 
still these people were not humbled; 
they cried, and said, “We shall die, 
we shall all perish !” 

It is sad when punishment makes 
sinners angry and rebellious. God 
sends it to make them repent and 
turn to Him. He wishes all to be 
saved; He wants none to perish; 
and, when people forget Him, He 
sends sorrow to them, to make 
them remember Him; to see if 
they will confess their sin, and ask 
for forgiveness. He is ready and 
waiting to forgive all who come 
humbly to Him ; Jesus is willing to 
save them, and to wash away their 
sins; the Holy Spirit is willing to 
come into their hearts, and to make 
them new and clean. But if sin¬ 
ners still resist and rebel, God will 
not wait for ever. He will at last 
cut them off, and send them away 
from Him to everlasting punish¬ 
ment. Then it will be too late to 
ask for pardon and salvation; for 
God will not hear their prayer. 
We must go to Jesus now , and all 
will be well; for He says, “Him 
that cometh unto me, I will in no 
wise cast out.” John vi. 37. 






98 


THE STRIKING OF THE ROCK. 


LVIII. 


J"he p e a t h 

HE Israelites went on their 
journey again, and pitch¬ 
ed their tents now in one 
place, and now in another. 
Sometimes they came very 
near to Canaan; then God com¬ 
manded them to turn round, and 
go back again. They wandered year 
after year in the wilderness, and 
were no nearer to the Promised 
Land than when they began. Why ? 
Because they had sinned, and rebel¬ 
led against God; they were to wan¬ 
der in the wilderness forty years, 
and never go to Canaan. 

When they came to Kadesh-Bar- 
nea, Miriam, Moses’ sister, became 
ill and died. We remember reading 
about her when, many years before, 
she sat watching her brother who 
lay in the river in his little ark. 
And afterwards, we read of her 
singing praises to God, when the 
Egyptians were drowned in the Red 
Sea. Miriam was a prophetess; 
God gave her wisdom to know fu- 


o F JA I A M . 

ture things; and she was a true 
servant of the Lord. But Miriam 
must not go to Canaan. Why not ? 
Because she had rebelled against 
Moses, and made God angry. 

Sin must be punished; God pun¬ 
ishes his own people, as kind parents 
punish their dear children when 
they deserve it; not because they 
hate them, but because they love 
them so much, and wish them to be 
good and obedient. God punishes 
His people to make them sorry for 
sin, that they may ask from Him 
pardon for the past, and grace for 
the future. Miriam could not see 
Canaan, but her soul went to Hea¬ 
ven, the happy country of which 
Canaan was a type. Miriam’s sins 
had been forgiven, and her heart 
made new, or she could not have 
gone there. She is happy now, and 
will never sin nor sorrow any more. 
“ Blessed are the dead which die in 
the Lord.” Rev . xiv. 13. 



LIX. 


Jh E pTRIKING 

HEX the Israelites had 
buried Miriam in Kadesh- 
Barnea, they began to 
murmur again. There 
was no water to drink, 
and they forgot their kind God who 
so often fed them from Heaven, and 
would not trust Him. They said to 
Moses and Aaron, “Why did you 
bring us here to kill us with thirst ? 


OF THE j\OCK. 

We wish we had died with our 
brethren before the Lord ?” Then 
Moses and Aaron fell on their faces 
before the door of the tabernacle, 
and the glory of Gad appeared to 
them. He heard their prayer, and 
He told them where to go for water, 
and what they must do. There 
was a great rock in the wilderness, 
and God commanded them to go 











MOSES SMITETH THE ROCK IN THE 
DESERT. Num. xx. n. 


Tissot Picture Society, New York. Copyright by de Brunoff, 1904 

“And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the 
rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the con¬ 
gregation drank, and their beasts also.” 













\ 













THE FIERY SERPEHTS. 


and speak to that rock, and He said 
He would bring water out of it. 
Then Moses took his rod, and he 
and Aaron called all the people to 
stand before the rock, to see the 
wonder that God was going to do. 
But Moses and Aaron were tired of 
the rebellion and disobedience of the 
people, and they became impatient 
and passionate. This was wrong; 
they should have asked God to give 
them meekness, and gentleness, 
and patience, and to help them to 
bear with the Israelites. But Moses 
and Aaron spoke very loudly, and 
cried to the people, “ Hear, ye rebels, 
must we bring water for you out of ■ 
the rock ?” Then Moses smote the 
rock, and the water came out, and 
the people and their cattle drank. 
But God was angry with Moses and 
Aaron, because they had not obeyed 
Him, and when they came to Mount 
Hor, he spoke to them again, and 
told them that they must die, and 
not go to Canaan, because they had 
rebelled against him at the rock 
Meribah. Aaron must die first; his 
work was ended, but Moses had 
much to do still. All God’s people 
have work to do; God gives them 
strength to do it; and when it is 


99 

finished, He takes them home to 
their rest. 

God commanded Moses, and 
Aaron, and Eleazer, Aaron’s son, to 
go up to the top of Mount Hor; and 
there Moses was to take off the holy 
garments from Aaron, and to put 
them upon Eleazer, and to make 
him High Priest instead of Aaron 
All three went up; they knew why 
they went; Aaron knew that he was 
now going to die, that he should 
never offer sacrifices, and pray for 
his people again. Aaron knew, too, 
that he must have a sacrifice offered 
for him, and that he needed a High 
• Priest to intercede for him; and he 
had faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, 
the great High Priest, who should 
come to offer up a sacrifice for all 
the world, the sacrifice of Himself. 
Aaron’s sins had all been taken 
away, his heart had been made new 
by the Holy Spirit, and he was ready 
to die. Moses took off his brother’s 
garments, and put them upon Elea¬ 
zer ; and then Aaron said farewell to 
Moses, and to his son, and lay down 
on the mountain,and died. Moses and 
Eleazer went back alone; and when 
the Israelites saw that Aaron was 
dead, they wept for him thirty days. 


oco 


LX. 


The Y 


i e r y 


FTER Aaron’s death, the 
people went to Kibroth- 
Hataavah, and then to 
Zalmonah; and they mur¬ 
mured again, because they 
were tired of their long wanderings, 
and of the manna which God gave 
them. They forgot why it was that 



jp ERPENTS. 

they wandered so many years in the 
wilderness; it was for the punish* 
ment of their sin, and they ought 
humbly to have submitted to it; 
but their hearts were still proud, 
and rebellious, and unhumbled be¬ 
fore God. 

God now punished his sinful peo- 








100 


BALAAM. 


pie again. He sent fiery serpents 
among them; and they hit the 
people, and many died. God has 
power over all creatures. He could 
bring quails to feed His people, and 
now He could bring serpents to kill 
them. The Israelites came to Moses, 
and confessed their sin, and asked 
him to pray for them to God. Moses 
was always ready to pray for them, 
and God was always ready to hear 
his prayers, and now He told Moses 
how the people must be cured of the 
serpents’ bites. He commanded 
Moses to make a serpent of brass, 
and to put it upon a pole; and He 
said, that all who were bitten, if 
they looked upon the brazen ser¬ 
pent, should live. The bitten Is¬ 
raelites did as God said, and were 
cured, and went on their journey 
again. 

We may learn a lesson from the 
story of the serpents. We are like 


the bitten Israelites; we are all sick 
and perishing, not in our bodies, 
but in our souls. Satan, “ the old 
serpent,” destroys the soul, as the 
fiery serpents destroyed the body. 
We are all sinners; all in danger 
of perishing in sin; but there is a 
way to escape. What saved the 
bitten Israelites ? They looked 
upon the serpent of brass and lived. 
And what can save us ? Jesus says, 
“Look unto me, and be ye saved.” 
Isaiah xlv. 22. He was lifted up 
upon the cross, to die on it for our 
sins: and if we look to Him in faith 
He has promised to save us, and to 
give us eternal life. He Himself, 
when He was upon earth, said to 
Nicodemus, “ As Moses lifted up the 
serpent in the wilderness, so must 
the Son of man be lifted up; that 
whosoever believeth in Him should 
not perish, but have eternal life.” 
John iii. 14,15. 


LXI. 




A L A A M . 


HEN the Israelites came 
to Heshbon, they fought 
with Sihon king of the 
Amorites. God had com¬ 
manded all the Amorites 
to be slain, because they were wicked 
idolaters; and He promised to give 
their possessions to His people 
Israel. The people were now com¬ 
ing into Canaan, and they pitched 
near Jericho. Very soon God would 
give them the land; for the forty 
years were almost ended, and then 
they were to go and possess it:— 
not the rebellious and disobedient; 
they would all be dead; but their 


children, who were now growing up, 
should go, and Caleb and Joshua 
with them. 

There was a country, near the 
land of the Amorites, called Moab: 
the king’s name was Balak. The 
Moabites heard what Israel had 
done to the Amorites, and other 
idolatrous people; and they began 
to be very much frightened, and 
thought that perhaps soon they 
should be destroyed too. These 
people did not go to God to help 
them; they did not ask the Israel¬ 
ites to teach them what was right, 
nor forsake their idols, and their 










BALAAM. 


101 


wickedness; but they thought they I 
would try to bring evil upon God’s 
people; for they hated them, and 
wished their destruction. 

There was a prophet, but a wick¬ 
ed prophet, who lived a long way 
off from Moab, named Balaam. 
Balak king of Moab sent his ser¬ 
vants to ask Balaam to come and 
curse the Israelites; and the servants 
took money with them to tempt 
Balaam to go. The messengers 
went to the wicked prophet, and 
told him what their king said; and 
when Balaam saw the money, he 
wished to go with them. He knew 
that it would be very wicked to 
curse God’s people, and he ought to 
have sent the servants away directly; 
but he said to them, "Stay one 
night, and I will tell you what God 
shall say to me.” In the night, 
God came to Balaam, and asked 
“ Who are these men ?” Then the 
prophet told Him who they were 
and why they came ; but God said, 
« Thou shalt not go; thou shalt not 
curse my people; for they are 
blessed.” Balaam told the men, in 
the morning, what God said, and 
they went back to their master. 
But soon after, Balak sent more 
princes to Balaam, and promised to 
give him great riches and honors if 
he would come and curse Israel. 


Balaam knew he could do nothing 
without God’s leave, SO he told the 
princes that he would ask God 
again. The Lord saw how rebellious 
and disobedient Balaam was, and 
He came to him and said, “ If the 
man call thee, go; but thou shalt 
speak only what I tell thee.” 

Then Balaam did not wait to be 
called, but rose early in the morn¬ 
ing, and went with the princes. 
Balaam wished to go, and God let 
him have his wish; but God’s bless¬ 
ing was not with him. Balaam 
knew he was displeasing God; he 
knew it was wrong to go to the 
enemies of the Lord, and curse His 
people; he knew God had told him 
at first not to go, and that he was 
now disobeying Him. Was Balaam 
happy ? No—he could not be 
happy ; nothing can make us truly 
happy without God’s blessing. 
When we wish for anything, or 
wish to go anywhere, we ought to 
ask ourselves, “ Will God be pleased 
if I do this ? Is it His will that I 
should do so, or that I should go 
there ? because, if it is not, I cannot 
have His blessing, and then I cannot 
be happy.” We should ask God to 
go with us, and to be with us wher¬ 
ever we are, and then all will be 
well. 




102 


BALAAM’S ASS. 


LEX 


j3 A 


L A A M S 


/ 


s s 



^gjlALAAM rode upon his 
ass to go to Moab; he 
thought how he should 
do as he pleased, and have 
the money Balak pro¬ 
mised him; hut God would not 
give Balaam the power to curse His 
people; and without God Balaam 
could do nothing. The angel of 
the Lord came to stand in the way 
before the disobedient prophet; but 
Balaam was not thinking of God, 
and he did not see the angel. But 
the ass saw, and turned out of the 
road for fear, and Balaam beat the 
ass to turn it back again. Soon 
after, they came to a road through 
some vineyards, with a wall on both 
sides; and the ass saw the angel 
standing with a sword drawn in his 
hand, and pressed close to the wall, 
and hurt Balaam’s foot, and he beat 
the ass again. Then the road be¬ 
came very narrow; the angel stood 
before, and there was no room to 
turn, and the ass fell down under 
Balaam. Then the prophet was 
very angry, and he beat the poor ass 
again with his stick; but it was not 
the ass that was rebellious and dis¬ 
obedient; no, it was the prophet 
who was so wicked, and so foolish, 
and the angel was sent to him. 
Balaam did not see the angel, and 
therefore he was cruel to the poor 


But God has power to do all 
things, and he did a very wonder¬ 
ful thing then; He opened the 
mouth of the ass, and enabled it to 
speak. Animals have not reason, 
nor the power of speaking, as most 


of us have; God has not given 
them these things. He has given 
them instinct; He teaches them 
how to find their food, and how to 
take care of their young. He has 
made them very useful to man. 

What did the ass say? It said 
“Am not I thine ass, upon which 
thou hast ridden for many years 
past ? What have I done ? Why 
hast thou smitten me ?” Balaam 
said, “ Because thou hast not obeyed 
me; I wish I had a sword in my 
hand, for now I would kill thee.” 
But the ass said again, “ I have been 
thine ass a long time ; did I ever do 
so before ?” And Balaam answered, 
“ No.” Then God opened the eyes 
of Balaam, and he saw the angel 
standing before him, with a sword 
in his hand, and he was very much 
afraid, and fell down on his face. 
The angel asked, “ Why hast thou 
smitten the ass these three times ? 
I came out to meet thee, because 
thou wast rebellious and disobedient, 
and the ass saw me and turned 
away. If the ass had not turned 
away, I should have killed thee, and 
saved her alive.” Then Balaam 
said, “ I have sinned, I did not see 
thee standing in the way; now 
then, if thou art displeased, I wi'l 
go back again.” But the angel 
said, “No, go with the men to 
Moab, but speak only what I tell 
thee.” 

Then the angel went away, and 
Balaam went on to Moab. But was 
he sorry for his disobedience? No, 
he was frightened, but he was not 
humbled. He could not now curse 





BALAAM’S PROPHECY. 


103 


Israel with his mouth; for God, 
who enabled the ass to speak, took 
away from Balaam the power to say 


what he wished. But his heart was 
not changed; he was rebellious and 
disobedient, and covetous still. 


LXIII. 




ALA AM 


S 


j^ROPHECY, 


ALAAM came to Moab; 
and when King Balak 
heard he was there, he 
went to meet him directly. 
Balak was glad to see 
him, and said, “ Why didst thou not 
come before? I am able to give 
thee money and honors, and many 
things, if thou wilt obey me.” But 
Balaam answered, “ Now that I am 
come, I have power to speak only 
what God commands me.” 

The next day, Balak brought 
Balaam to a high place, where they 
could see the camp of Israel: there 
the idol Baal was worshipped, and 
there they built seven altars, and 
offered a bullock and a ram upon 
every altar. When they had finished, 
Balaam told the king to stay by the 
altar, while he went to meet the 
Lord; for Balaam could not speak 
a word without God’s command. 
God met Balaam, and told him 
what to say, and then the prophet 
went back to Balak. The king of 
Moab was waiting for him, and 
wishing to hear the curses against 
God’s people. And did Balaam 
curse them ? No ; he could speak 
only God’s words. He said, “ Balak, 
king of Moab, sent for me to come 
and curse Israel; but how can I 
curse the people whom God has not 
cursed? Let me die the death of 
the righteous, and let my last end 


be like his!” Numbers, xxiii. 10. 
Then Balak said, “ What hast thou 
done ? I called thee to curse the 
people, not to bless them.” But Ba¬ 
laam answered, “ I told thee I must 
speak only what God commands.” 
Again Balaam went to meet God, 
and again God put blessings into 
Balaam’s mouth. He spoke of Is¬ 
rael’s happiness, and of their future 
blessings. God gave him words, 
and made him speak blessings of 
His people Israel; for God had 
power over Balaam’s mouth, as He 
had over the mouth of the ass. But 
it is sad to think of wicked Balaam: 
when he saw God’s happy people, 
he wished to be safe and happy like 
them; but he did not pray to be 
made holy like God’s people. They 
are people who have repented; 
whose sins have been washed away, 
and whose hearts have been made 
new and clean. 

Balak was very angry with Balaam 
because he did not curse the Israel¬ 
ites ; he gave him no money, and no 
honor, but sent him away. Balaam 
lost God’s blessing, and worldly 
riches too ; and, soon after, he was 
slain by the Israelites, when they 
fought against Midian. Learn from 
this sad story how fearful it is 
to forsake God, and how blessed 
those are who truly love and serve 
Him. 











1Q4 


THE DEATH OP MOSES. 


LXIY. 


y H E 


P E A T H 


O F 


Jk O 


S E S 


OSES was now a very old 
man, 120 years old. The 
Israelites were close to 
Canaan, and soon they 
were to go there; hut 
Moses must not go with them. He 
had sinned and disobeyed God at 
the rock, and his sin must be pun¬ 
ished. But God was not angry 
with Moses now. No: Moses had 
repented, and he was forgiven, and 
his soul would go to Heaven. But 
God must punish His servant in 
this world; Moses could not go to 
the good land which God promised 
to His people. God said to him, 
“ Go unto the mountain Pisgah, 
and there I will show thee all the 
land of Canaan; thou shall see it 
with thine eyes, but thou shalt not 
go over thither.” Then God told 
him to take Joshua, and make him 
the leader of the people, to guide 
them when Moses was dead. Moses 
did all God commanded. He took 
Joshua, and laid his hands upon 
him, and blessed him; and God 
gave him His Spirit, and made 
him wise and holy, that he might 
know how to command his people 
m the right way. 

Then Moses called all the people 
together, that he might speak to 
them for the last time. They were 
the children who had grown up in 
the wilderness; the rebellious par¬ 
ents were dead. Moses spoke to 
them of all those wonders which 
God had done for them, and for 
their fathers, for forty years. This 
last speech of Moses is written in 


the book of Deuteronomy. He told 
them all their past history, since 
they went from Egypt. He re¬ 
minded them of God’s kindness, 
and of their sins and rebellions, and 
of all the laws which God had given 
them; and then, when he had fin¬ 
ished, he taught them a beautiful 
song of praise to God. The Israel¬ 
ites felt very sad when they heard 
their friend speak to them for the 
last time, and give them his dying 
blessing; and it was sad, too, to 
Moses to say farewell to those he 
loved. But he knew they had a 
friend in Heaven, who would never 
forsake them if they truly served 
Him; and he told them to love and 
obey their kind and holy God. 
Then he blessed Joshua again, 
and told him not to fear, because 
God was with him to strengthen 
and protect him; and then he and 
Joshua went together into the tab¬ 
ernacle. 

And now God called Moses, and 
told him that the time was come 
for him to go up to the mountain, 
and die. God showed him from the 
mount, all the beautiful country of 
Canaan, with its hills, and fields, 
and water, and corn, and vineyards. 
Moses could not go there; but he 
was going to a better country, a 
heavenly one, where is no pain, nor 
sickness, nor sorrow, nor sin. Mo¬ 
ses lay down on the mountain, and 
died, and the Lord buried him; no 
man knew where, nor how. Then 
all the people saw that Moses was 
dead, and they wept for him in the 





RAHAB. 


105 


plains of Moab thirty days. Joshua 
was now their commander; he was 
full of wisdom which God gave 


him, and the people obeyed him, as 
they had before obeyed Moses. 


LXV. 




A H A B . 


FTER Moses was dead, 
God spoke to Joshua, and 
told him not to fear, for 
He was with him, to 
strengthen him to con¬ 
quer his enemies; and that, in three 
days, he and the Israelites should 
go over Jordan into Canaan. Then 
Joshua called two men, and sent 
them secretly to Jericho, to spy out 
the land. The men obeyed, and 
went to the house of a woman 
named Rahab, and stayed there. 
Very soon after, the king of Jericho 
heard that two Israelites were come 
as spies, and he sent to Rahab, and 
told her to bring out the men. But 
Rahab took them, and hid them in 
the house, and told the messengers 
that the men were gone, she knew 
not where; so the messengers went 
away to seek them. 

When they were gone, Rahab 
went up to the two Israelites, to the 
flat top of the house, where she had 
hid them under some stalks of flax, 
and she said to them, “ I know God 
has given you this land; I have 
heard all the wonderful things He 
has done for you, and I believe that 
He is the true God of Heaven and 
earth. I have been kind to you, 
and hid you from your enemies 
here; when you come and take 


Jericho, be kind to me, and save 
me and my family from the sword.” 
The spies said, “Yes, when God 
gives us the land, we will be kind 
to thee, and spare thee.” The wo¬ 
man let them down from the win¬ 
dow by a rope, and told them to go 
quickly to the mountain, and hide 
there three days, till the enemies 
were returned. Then the men said, 
“ As soon as we are gone, bind a 
scarlet thread in the window, that 
we may remember the house when 
we see it; and then we will save 
thee and all thy family; but tell no 
one that we have been here.” Ra¬ 
hab promised not to tell, and the 
men went away, and she bound the 
scarlet thread in the window. 

Rahab was a heathen, and did not 
know much of the true God; but 
when she was told of the wonderful 
things He did for His people, she 
believed. She believed He would 
do what He said, and give the land 
to the Israelites; and it was in faith 
that she hid the spies, and sent 
them away safely. It was not right 
of Rahab to say that the men were 
gone, when she had hid them in her 
house; but Rahab did not know 
that lying is so great a sin as God 
says it is. 











106 


JORDAN". 


LXVI. 

O R D A N . 


HE Israelites were now 
to pass over the river Jor¬ 
dan, and Joshua told 
them all to be ready the 
next day. How could 
they go through ? The river was 
wide, and there was no bridge, nor 
any ships to carry them over. God 
knew how. He had brought them 
through the Red Sea, and He could 
bring them over the river Jordan 
too. God told Joshua to command 
the priests to take up the ark, and 
to go before the people. When the 
priests came to the river, and their 
feet were dipped into the water, then 
the waters divided, and stood up 
like a wall; and the priests, with 
the ark, went through first, and the 
people followed on dry ground. 
When they had all passed over, 
Joshua called twelve men, one of 
every tribe, and told them each to 
take a stone from Jordan, from the 
place where the priests’ feet stood 
upon dry ground, when the waters 
divided. These twelve stones Joshua 
set up in Gilgal, that when, in fu¬ 
ture times, the Israelites’ children 
should ask, “What are these stones ? ” 
their parents might tell them the 


wonderful story of God’s bringing 
His people through the river on dry 
ground. 

How powerful God is, and how 
kind to His own people! He took 
care of Israel for many long years; 
when they were in Egypt, and 
when they were in the* wilderness ; 
and, at last, we read that He brought 
them safely to Canaan. 

And God promises to take care of 
His people now. He gives them all 
that He thinks right; He helps 
them to fight against their sinful 
hearts, and Satan, who tempts them 
so often; and, at last, He brings 
them to the heavenly Canaan above. 

This world is like the wilderness; 
it is full of sorrow and pain, and 
between it and Heaven there is a 
river which God’s people must pass, 
that is death . But they need not 
fear; for God promises to be with 
them there. The ark, which the 
priests carried, was the type of 
Christ, and it went over Jordan 
with the Israelites. And when we 
come to die, if we are the servants 
of Christ, He will be with us; He 
will bring us safely through, and 
land us in the happy Canaan above. 







ACHAN. 


107 


LXVII. 


jl ERICH O 

Lord told Joshua, that 
had given Jericho to 
a, and that he should 
lquer and possess it. 

But how were the Israel¬ 
ites to conquer it? Were they to 
go and fight against it with swords, 
and spears, and battering rams? 
No; God told all the soldiers, and 
the priests, carrying the ark, to 
walk round the city once every day, 
for seven days. Seven of the priests 
were to carry trumpets; and to 
blow with them as they passed on 
before the ark. The last day, they 
were to go round the city seven times; 
and the priests were to blow the 
trumpets, and the people to shout; 
and then God said the walls should 
fall down, and they should go in, 
and possess it. 

The people believed God, and did 
all He commanded. They walked 


Jaken. 

round the walls once each of the six 
days, carrying the ark, and blowing 
with the trumpets; and on the 
seventh day, they walked round 
seven times, and the priests blew 
the trumpets, and the people shout¬ 
ed; and then the walls fell down, 
and they went up and took the 
city. But the spies did not forget 
their promise to Rahab; they went 
to her house, and brought her out, 
and all her family, and put them in 
safety; and then they burnt the 
city with fire. All the silver, and 
gold, and brass, and iron, they 
saved for the Lord’s house; but the 
Israelites were commanded not to 
take any thing for themselves. 
Jericho was an accursed place, be¬ 
cause the people who lived there 
were so wicked; and therefore, all 
were to be destroyed. 



LXVIII. 


/ 


CHAN. 


UT one wicked man named 
Achan, thinking no eye 
saw him, disobeyed the 
command, and took some 
of the riches which he 
found, and went and hid them. 
Joshua did not know what was done, 
and the people did not know; God 
alone saw Achan’s wickedness; but 
He did not tell Joshua of it di¬ 
rectly. 

There was a city near Jericho 


called Ai, and the Israelites asked 
Joshua to let them go there, and 
take the city. They said, “ It is a 
small place, and we shall soon take 
it; we need not all go; a few sol¬ 
diers will be enough to conquer Ai.” 
But the Israelites forgot that they 
had no power of themselves. It 
was God who helped them to con¬ 
quer, and if He hid His face from 
them, their power was nothing. 

A few of the people went up to 














108 


ACHAN. 


fight against Ai. Did they con¬ 
quer? No; their enemies smote 
and killed many of them, and drove 
the rest away. 

Why was this? Because God 
was angry, and He was not now 
fighting for Israel. And why was 
God angry ? Why did He turn 
away from His people, and refuse to 
help them ? Joshua did not know; 
but he saw that God was displeased, 
and this made him very unhappy. 
He rent his clothes and put dust 
upon his head, and fell down on the 
ground. Was this all he did ? No; 
he did what all God’s people ought 
to do when they are unhappy,—he 
went and prayed to the Lord. All 
day he lay before ark; and he asked 
God to return to His people again, 
and to help them as He had done 
before. The Lord heard Joshua’s 
prayer; for He is always ready to 
attend to us when we pray, and to 
comfort us when we are in sorrow. 
He commanded Joshua to arise, 
and then He told him why He did 
not fight for Israel now. He told 
him that one man had sinned, and 
had stolen, and hid his stolen things 
in the tent; and He commanded 
Joshua to seek that man, and to 
put him to death : because God 
could not fight for His people when 
sin was among them. 

Joshua obeyed directly. He called 
all the tribes, and all the families, 
and God helped him to find the 
right man. Achan was taken. 
God’s eye saw him among all the 
thousands of Israel, and pointed 
him out to Joshua. Then Joshua 
called Achan, and spoke very sol¬ 
emnly to him. Joshua was not 
angry, but sorry to think how 
wicked Achan had been; and now 


he told Achan to confess his sin, 
and pray for pardon, and warned 
him of the wickedness of denying 
what he had done. Achan con¬ 
fessed all; he said, “I saw among 
the riches of Jericho, some silver, 
and gold, and a beautiful garment; 
and I coveted them, and stole them, 
and hid them in my tent.” So 
Joshua sent men to the tent; and 
there they found the silver, and 
gold, and the garment, and they 
brought them to Joshua; and every 
thing that belonged to Achan they 
brought too; his wife, and children, 
and possessions. Then Joshua com¬ 
manded that Achan and his family 
should be stoned, and afterwards 
burnt with fire. When they were 
dead, the people went again to Ai; 
and God was with them then, and 
helped them to fight; and Ai was 
soon taken and destroyed. 

Joshua built an altar to the Lord; 
and upon the stones of the altar he 
wrote the law of Moses. Then the 
Israelites stood round the altar, half 
of the tribes over against Mount 
Ebal, and half of them over against 
Mount Gerizim, as God had before 
commanded, and then Joshua read 
to them the words of the law; all 
God’s curses against those who 
would not obey Him; and all His 
blessings to His own people and 
servants. The Israelites had much 
to do at this time; they were busied 
with their wars and conquests; 
but they did not refuse to attend. 

Whatever we have to do, we 
ought always to find time for read¬ 
ing God’s word, and serving Him, 
and never say we are too busy to 
attend to holy things. Nothing 
will go on well without God’s bless¬ 
ing. We must seek it every day we 




THE GIBEONITES. 


109 


live, and in every thing we do. a kind God waiting to hear our 
And how thankful we ought to be, prayers, and to love and bless us! 
that we have the Bible to read, and 


LXIX. 


y H E jGr I B 

B HEN the wicked nations 
of Canaan heard of what 
the Israelites were doing, 

_ of all their conquests, and 

their great power, they 
came together to fight against 
Joshua and his men. It was 
wicked, and foolish too, to try to 
fight with God’s people. God had 
promised to give Canaan to the Is¬ 
raelites, and to help them to con¬ 
quer their enemies; and those 
wicked Canaanites had no power to 
resist His will. But there were 
some of these people who did not 
wish to fight with Israel, because 
they felt it would do no good, and 
they were in great fear that Joshua 
would kill them. These people 
were the Gibeonites. It was right 
of them to feel their own weakness, 
and God’s strength, and to wish to 
be at peace with His people; but 
they did not seek for peace in the 
right way. They knew that Joshua 
was not commanded to fight with 
the people who lived far off, but 
only with those who lived in Ca¬ 
naan ; so they determined to deceive 
him ; and to pretend to have come 
from a country very far off, and to 
ask him to make peace with them. 

So the Gibeonites took their asses, 
and put sacks upon them, and in 
the sacks they put dry mouldy 
bread ; the skin wine-bottles which 
they carried were broken, and their 


EONITE S. 

shoes and clothes old and torn. The 
Gibeonites soon came to the camp 
of the Israelites at Gilgal, for it was 
not far from them, and asked to 
speak to Joshua. They said, “ We 
wish to make peace with you ; we 
are come a long way to see you.” 
The Israelites answered, “Perhaps 
you are Canaanites, and we must 
not make peace with them.” The 
Gibeonites said, “No, we are not 
Canaanites; we come from a coun¬ 
try very far off; we have been trav¬ 
eling many days, and are tired with 
our long journey; you see our dry 
bread, and our broken bottles, and 
our old shoes and garments; all 
were new when we began our jour¬ 
ney ; but now they are worn out, 
because we have been so long a time 
on the road. When we were in our 
own country, we heard about you, 
and about all that you did to the 
kings of Heshbon and Bashan, and 
we were afraid you would destroy 
us also ; so we are come now to ask 
you to be at peace with us, and we 
will serve and obey you.” 

This story was not true; but 
Joshua believed it; so he did not 
ask God to tell him what he ought 
to do, but he made peace with the 
Gibeonites, and promised not to de¬ 
stroy them. Then the Gibeonites 
were much pleased, and went home 
again. But two or three days after, 
the Israelites heard that these 








110 


THE KINGS CONQUERED. 


people, with whom they had made 
peace, were Canaanites, and lived 
very near to them. Then the Is¬ 
raelites were vexed, and angry too, 
and they said, “ What shall we do ? 
These Gibeonites are Canaanites, 
and we ought to kill them; but we 
cannot because we have promised 
not to hurt them, and we must 
keep our promise.” 

So Joshua called for the Gibeon¬ 
ites, and said to them, “ Why have 
you deceived us ? Why did you 
say you came from a very distant 
country, when you knew you lived 
close by us ? You have done very 
wrong to deceive us so wickedly. 
We promised not to kill you, and 


we will keep our promise; but we 
will punish you for your deceit; 
you shall be our servants, and do 
all our hard work for us: you shall 
cut our wood, and draw our water, 
and help us in the work we have to 
do for the house and altar of God.” 
The Gibeonites said, “ We were so 
very much afraid that you would 
kill us; fear made us deceive you; 
we are willing to be your servants; 
do not kill us, and we will do all 
you say.” Then Joshua promised 
again not to hurt them; but he 
made them servants to the Israel¬ 
ites, hewers of wood, and drawers of 
water, for all the people, and for the 
altar of God. 


COCO 


y H E I N GS 

OON after Joshua had 
made peace with the 
Gibeonites, the wicked 
kings of the Amorites 
heard of it, and went to 
Gibeon to fight against it, because it 
had made peace with the Israelites. 
The Gibeonites were very much 
frightened when they saw these 
kings, and their armies, coming to 
fight them; but they knew where to 
go for help; they sent to Joshua, and 
asked him to come and save them 
from their enemies. 

When we are in sorrow and 
danger, it is very pleasant to have 
Rind friends to comfort and help us; 
but there is only one Friend who 
has power always to save us from 
all evil, and to fight for us against 
our worst enemies, the enemies of 
our souls. Who is that Friend ? 


LXX. 

O N QJJ E R E D . 

It is the Lord Jesus Christ; He is 
“ a Friend at all times,” and He tells 
us to call upon Him in the time of 
trouble. 

Did Joshua go to help the Gib¬ 
eonites, or did he say he would do 
nothing for people who had been so 
deceitful ? No, Joshua had promis¬ 
ed to be kind to them, and he did 
not forget his promise now they 
were in trouble: he went directly, 
and all his soldiers with him. He 
was right to go; we ought always to 
be willing to help those who ask 
our help; and if people have done 
wrong to us in time past, we should 
be ready to forgive and forget all, 
and be kind to them when they are 
in sorrow. But Joshua and his 
men of themselves could not do 
much ; God alone could conquer the 
enemy, and He promised He would. 








THE KINGS CONQUERED. 


Ill 


He said to Joshua, “Fear not; fori 
am with thee.” 

The kings were soon conquered, 
and fled from the Israelites; and 
many of their soldiers were killed 
with hail-stones, which God sent 
from heaven to destroy the enemies 
of His people. God did a wonderful 
thing that day : Joshua and the 
Israelites were many hours fighting, 
and they feared darkness would come 
on, and then they would not know 
where to find their enemies. But 
Joshua had great faith in God; he 
knew He could do everything, and 
that He had promised to do great 
things for His people; so Joshua 
asked God to do a very wonderful 
miracle then, a new miracle, never 
seen before. What was it ? Joshua 
spoke to the Lord, and said, “ Sun, 
stand thou still in Gibeon ; and thou 
moon, in the valley of Ajalon.” 
And did the sun and moon obey ? 
Yes, because it was the will of God 
that they should; it was His power, 
not Joshua’s, that made them stand 
still, and He gave the command in 
answer to Joshua’s prayer. The sun 
and the moon stayed as they were 
all that day; hour after hour passed, 
and the sun and the moon were in 
the same place still, until all the 
enemies of Israel were conquered. 


How wonderful God is! How great 
His power is, and His kindness too, 
to His own people! We may safely 
trust Him in all dangers, if we love 
and serve Him; but we must re¬ 
member that He has power to de¬ 
stroy His enemies, as well as to save 
His friends. 

The wicked kings fled and hid in 
a cave; they thought Joshua could 
not find them there; but they could 
not save themselves. Joshua soon 
heard where they were, and he com¬ 
manded his people to roll great 
stones to the mouth of the cave to 
keep the kings in, till all his ene¬ 
mies were conquered. And when 
the Israelites had finished fighting, 
Joshua brought out the kings and 
slew them. The Amorites had 
long sinned against God, and now 
they must be destroyed. God’s 
enemies will all perish at last. He 
waits a long time for them to repent 
and turn to Him; but if they will 
not, He will cast them away for 
ever. Then let us pray God to 
make us His people ; to give us new 
hearts, and to help us, by His Holy 
Spirit, to love and serve Him. 
And then we shall be safe and 
happy, and have God for our friend 
for ever. 




THE DIVISION OF CANAAN. 


112 


y H E p 


LXXI. 


I Y I S I O N OF 


PA 


NAAN. 



ANY years passed away. 
Joshua and the Israelites 
spent those years in fight¬ 
ing with their enemies; 
and God helped them, 
until almost all the land was con¬ 
quered. Joshua was now an old 
man, and God called to him and 
said, “Thou art old, but all the 
land is not yet possessed: soon I 
will give the whole country to my 
people Israel, as I promised; and 
now divide the land, and give pos¬ 
sessions to all the tribes.” Joshua 
obeyed, and gave to each tribe a 
part of the land; but he gave none 
to the tribe of Levi. Why? Be¬ 
cause that was the tribe of priests; 
their possession was the sacrifices 
offered to the Lord, and they wanted 
no more. But forty-eight cities, in 
different parts of the country, were 
given to them ; there they lived, and 
had schools where the young Israel¬ 
ites were taught to worship and 
praise the Lord. The tribe of 
Reuben, and the tribe of Gad, and 
half the tribe of Manasseh,had their 
possessions on the other side of the 
river Jordan. They had asked 
Moses for that part, because they 
liked it best; and Moses had said, 
“ If you will come over Jordan with 
us, and help your brethren to fight 
against their enemies, you may have 
possessions where you wish; but you 


must not live idly here, while the 
others are busy fighting; when the 
land is all possessed, you may re- 
turn, and you may leave your wives 
and children here now, but you 
must go over Jordan and help your 
brethren.” Then the three tribes 
promised to obey, and they did as 
Moses said; and now, when their 
enemies were conquered, they went 
home to live in peace. The Israel¬ 
ites were very glad to have those 
quiet possessions in their beautiful 
land. 

And does God give no possession, 
no home, to His people now ? Yes, 
and a better home, a better posses¬ 
sion than Canaan : but it is not in 
this world. The home of God’s 
people is in heaven; their possession 
is there. Canaan was a type of 
heaven; and beautiful as Canaan 
was, heaven is much better. Do we 
wish to go there ? We have enemies 
as the Israelites had, and we must 
conquer them before we can have 
our heavenly possessions. How can 
we conquer them ? We must do as 
the Israelites did; we must ask God 
to fight for us, and to make us con¬ 
querors by his power, not our own. 
Jesus Christ is better and stronger 
than Joshua; and if we ask Him, 
He will save and deliver us from all 
our enemies, and bring us in safety 
to our happy home in heaven. 


< 




THE CITIES OF REFUGE. 


113 


LXXII. 


Jhe Pities 

HE Israelites now all as¬ 
sembled at Shiloh, and 
there they set up the 
tabernacle; for this was 
the place God had ap¬ 
pointed ; and here the sacrifices 
were to be offered. 

There were six cities, among the 
forty-eight belonging to the Levites, 
called cities of refuge. They were 
in different parts of Canaan, and 
their names were Kedesh, Shechem, 
Bezer, Hebron, Ramoth, and Golan. 
These cities were appointed by com¬ 
mand of God. Why ? We read in 
the Sixth Commandment, “Thou 
shalt do no murder;” and God told 
Moses that murderers must be pun¬ 
ished with death. But sometimes 
a man might kill another without 
wishing to do it; without being 
angry, or hating the person he 
killed; he might kill him by acci¬ 
dent ; he might throw a stone when 
he did not see any one, and the 
stone might fall on the head of a 
man, and kill him. Was the man 
who threw the stone a murderer? 
Must he be put to death ? No, God 
did not wish this; that man was 
not like a cruel murderer who hates 
his neighbors, and waits slily for 
him, and at last kills him. God 
made a way of escape for the man- 
slayer. The manslayer was to run 
directly to one of the cities of ref¬ 
uge ; he was not to wait; if he were 
found on the road he might be 


OF j\EFUGE, 

killed; he was to run to the city, 
and the Levites there would take 
care of him; but he was not to go 
out of the city till the High Priest 
died, and then he might return 
home. The roads to the cities of 
refuge were broad and smooth : the 
manslayer could run very quickly 
along them; there were bridges over 
the rivers and streams; and at the 
cross roads, large stones, and the 
words, “Refuge, Refuge,” written 
upon them. So the manslayer had 
no need to stay to ask his way, and 
he could always escape to a city of 
refuge, and be there safely before 
night. But if he lingered on the 
road, or stayed to rest, the friends of 
the dead man might overtake him 
and kill him ; and nothing could 
save the manslayer then. He was 
safe in the city of refuge, and there 
alone. 

Jesus Christ is our refuge. If we 
run to Him, believe in Him, pray to 
Him, ask Him to save us, we are safe, 
as safe as the manslayer was in the 
refuge city. But if we do not fly to 
Christ, we can have none to save us; 
and then we must perish. Let us 
go to Him directly, without waiting 
or lingering. He is always ready to 
receive us: He says, He will not 
cast out those who come to Him. 
But if we linger, we may perish 
before we reach the place of safety, 
and where shall we be then ? 






114 


THE DEATH OF JOSHUA. 


LXXIII. 


y H E 


JD E A T H 


O F 


/ 


O S H U A . 


OD had now given rest to 
the Israelites a long time, 
and Joshua was very old, 
and felt that he must 
soon die. He loved his 
people very much; and he wished 
to talk to them, and bid them fare¬ 
well. He called them all to She- 
chem, and spoke to them there for 
the last time. The Israelites felt 
very sad when they looked upon 
their dear old friend whom they 
had known so long, and they stood 
very attentively to hear all he said. 
Joshua told them of all God’s kind¬ 
ness to them in past years, His love 
to Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, 
and His mercy to the Israelites in 
Egypt. Then Joshua told them to 
remember all the wonders God had 
done to their enemies, the Egyptians, 
and the Amorites, and many more 
people whom God had given them 
power to conquer. 

When Joshua had finished, he 
asked, “Now, tell me, whom do 
you wish to serve, and worship, and 
obey ? Will you serve the idols of 
the Amorites, and the Egyptians, or 
God, the true God, who has done 
all these things for you ?” Then 
all the people answered, “We will- 
serve the Lord.” But Joshua said, 
“You are not able of yourselves to 
serve Him rightly, for He is a very 
holy God: He hates sin, and He 


punishes all those who rebel against 
Him.” But the people cried again, 
“We do wish to love and serve the 
Lord.” Then Joshua told them to 
throw away all their idols, and to 
pray to God to help them to serve 
Him aright. Joshua wrote their 
promise in the book of the law; and 
then he took a large stone, and put 
it up under an oak tree, and called 
the people and said, “ Look at that 
stone; it has heard jour promise 
that you will serve the Lord. Here 
it is, a remembrance of what you 
have done.” 

Then Joshua sent the people to 
their homes, and, very soon after, 
he went to his home in Heaven. 
He had lived many years, 110; he 
had fought many battles, and done 
many wonderful things by God’s 
power; but now all was finished, 
and he laid down to rest in the quiet 
grave. Joshua was glad to go to a 
better country than Canaan; he did 
not fear death, because his sins were 
forgiven, and his soul saved. He 
had lived in the love of God, and 
now he was going to be with God 
for ever. The Israelites were sorry 
to lose their kind teacher: and they 
tried to remember all he had said to 
them, and did not forget their holy 
promise to serve the Lord. It is a 
happy thing when people choose God 
for their friend, and not the world. 





KING EGLON. 


115 


LXXIY. 


JC I N G 

Israelites remembered 
ir promise for a few 
rs, and served God, 
would not worship 
the idols around them. 
But after a time they forgot God, 
and Joshua, and all he had said to 
them, and their own promise, and 
began to rebel against God again. 

The Israelites forgot God, but He 
remembered them still. One day, 
when they were worshipping their 
idols, they saw an angel coming to 
them from God. He came to tell 
them of their sin, and of God’s 
anger. He told them of their dis¬ 
obedience and rebellion; and said, 
that now God would not be with 
them, to help them to conquer their 
enemies, but would leave them to 
themselves. This was very sad, and 
all the Israelites wept for sorrow. 
They had no friend, no father, no 
kind God now, because they had 
forsaken Him, and He had turned 
away from them. But the Israelites 
knew that God would hear prayer, 
and they went and prayed to Him. 
They confessed their sins, and asked 
for forgiveness, and offered a sacri¬ 
fice. Were they right to do this ? 
Yes; when we sin, we can have 
pardon in Jesus, and by Him alone: 
and if we pray to Him in faith, He 
promises to take away our sins, and 
to renew our hearts by His Holy 
Spirit. God heard the Israelites’ 
prayer. He gave them judges; wise 
men who helped them to conquer 
their enemies, and taught the people 
to love and serve the Lord. 

But again the Israelites did 


G L O N . 

wickedly, and then God sent cruel 
enemies to fight against them; and 
they cried to Him, and He heard 
them. Eighteen years they served 
Eglon, the cruel and wicked king oi 
Moab. At last, God sent the Israel¬ 
ites a man to help them, whose 
name was Ehud. The Israelites 
had a present to send to Eglon, and 
they asked Ehud to take it to him. 
Ehud made a dagger, and hid it 
under his clothes, and went to 
Moab. When he came to the king, 
he said he had a secret thing to tell 
him alone ; so Eglon sent away his 
servants. Eglon was sitting in his 
own room, a summer parlor which 
was very cool and pleasant; and he 
thought himself safe there, for he 
did not know why Ehud had come. 
When they were alone, Ehud took 
out his dagger, and thrust it into 
the king’s body, and killed him; 
and then Ehud ran out of the room, 
and locked the doors and escaped. 
Hone saw Ehud go; and when the 
servants found the doors locked, 
they thought their master was 
asleep; so they did not go in. Many 
hours passed, and then the servants 
began to wonder why the king did 
not send for them, and, at last, they 
took a key and opened the door 
What did they see ? The king 
lying upon the ground, dead! 

Ehud soon came back again, 
bringing many soldiers with him; 
and the Israelites fought against 
the Moabites, and conquered them. 
It was God who delivered the people 
of Israel from their cruel enemy, 
and He was pleased to do so by the 









116 


DEATH OF SISEEA. 


hand of Ehud. We must not think, 
from this story, that it can ever be 
right to deceive and murder even 
our enemies; but we may learn 
from it, that when the people of 


God are in danger, and pray to Him 
for help, He can find a way to de¬ 
liver them from their trouble, and 
to give them peace and safety. 


LXXV. 


J J E A T H OP 

HEX Ehud was dead, the 
Israelites again rebelled 
against God; so soon they 
forgot all His mercies, 
and their own promises 
to love and obey Him. God, there¬ 
fore, punished them again. He 
cannot let His people sin, and take 
no notice: He is like a kind parent 
who punishes his disobedient chil¬ 
dren in love ; to make them better, 
not because he hates them. 

God sent Jabin king of Canaan 
to fight against Israel, and conquer 
them. He was very cruel, and they 
suffered much under his power for 
twenty years. God did not fight for 
them then, because they had rebel¬ 
led, and made Him turn away from 
them. The Israelites felt this; and 
they remembered their sins, and re¬ 
pented and cried to the Lord to 
forgive and help them. And did 
God attend to these rebellious 
people ? Yes, for he is so merciful 
that He never sends away any who 
humbly pray to Him. 

There was a very good woman 
living at that time, named Deborah. 
She dwelt under the palm tree be¬ 
tween Ramah and Bethel; and 
there she prayed, and sang praises 
to God, and talked to and taught 
all the people who came to see her. 
She was a very wise woman: God 


I S E F^A . 

had given her the best wisdom, the 
knowledge of Himself; and He 
taught her to prophesy; and to 
know the future, that she might 
tell the Israelites what they must 
do, and how they could be delivered 
from their cruel enemy, Jabin. 
When the Israelites began to cry to 
God, Deborah, at His command, 
sent for a brave man, named Barak, 
and said to him, “ Go now, and call 
men out of the tribes of Zebulun 
and Naphtali, and take them to 
fight against Sisera, the captain of 
Jabin’s army; for God promises to 
give us the victory.” Then Barak 
said, “If thou wilt go with me, I 
will go;” so Deborah went with 
him, and 10,000 men, to fight 
against Sisera. But Deborah told 
Barak, that he should not kill 
Sisera, but that God would give the 
wicked captain into the hands of a 
woman. 

So Barak and his army went and 
fought against Sisera; and soon the 
Israelites had the victory, because 
God was with them. Then Sisera 
came down from his chariot, and 
ran away on his feet to escape from 
Barak. There was a man named 
Heber who was at peace with Jabin; 
and Sisera ran to Heber’s tent for 
safety. The name of the man’s wife 
was Jael. When Jael saw Sisera 








THE MIDIANITES. 


117 


coming, she went out to meet him, 
and said, “Come in, come in, fear 
not.” So Sisera came in, and lay 
down; and she covered him with a 
mantle. Then he asked for water 
to drink; and she gave him milk, 
and he drank, and lay down again. 
Then he said, “ Stand by the door, 
and if any one ask if I am here, say, 
No.” Sisera was soon asleep, for he 
was weary with fighting and run¬ 
ning so far; and then Jael went 
very softly, and took a large nail, 
and a hammer, and hammered the 
nail into Sisera’s head and down 
into the ground, while he slept, 


and killed him. Soon after, Barak 
came to the door of the tent, and 
Jael called him in, and showed him 
his enemy lying dead, upon the 
ground. 

Barak and Deborah felt that it 
was the Lord, not themselves, nor 
their soldiers, who had gained the 
victory, and they sang a beautiful 
song of praise to Him. How glad 
the Israelites were to be in peace 
again! War is a sad thing. If we 
live in a peaceful country, let us 
thank God for it; because it is He 
who gives us peace, as well as all 
our other mercies. 


LXXVI. 


E yVL ID 

ORTY years passed hap¬ 
pily and safely; the Is¬ 
raelites lived in the fear 
of God, and He kept 
them in peace, and gave 
them rest from their enemies. When 
nations serve God, then they have 
His blessing; He does them good, 
and gives them all they need; and 
they become happy and strong, and 
none can make them afraid. Solo¬ 
mon says, “Righteousness exalteth 
a nation.” It is God’s blessing that 
makes people truly happy: not 
riches, nor power, nor possessions. 

When the forty years were passed, 
the Israelites began again to do 
evil; and then new sorrows and 
punishments came upon them. 
God sent the Midianites to be their 
enemies. These people came in 
great numbers; they brought their 
camels and their cattle with them, 
and pitched their tents in the pos- 


I ANITES. 

sessions of the Israelites; and the 
Israelites left their pleasant house# 
and fields, and ran to hide in dens 
and caves, for fear of the cruel 
Midianites. When the grass, and 
corn, and fruit grew up in the 
fields, these enemies took all away 
for themselves, and for their cattle; 
and the pleasant land began to look 
barren and desolate, because the 
Midianites tried to destroy it. Then 
the Israelites cried again to the 
Lord, for they knew that He could 
deliver them, and Re alone. God 
sent an answer to them by a pro¬ 
phet. He had not forgotten his 
people, but He was very much dis¬ 
pleased with them: and the prophet 
came to tell them this. He said, 
“ Thus saith the Lord, I brought 
you safely out of Egypt, and de¬ 
livered you from the cruel Egyp¬ 
tians, and drove away your enemies, 
and gave you the land of Canaan 









118 


GIDEON. 


for a possession; and I commanded 
you to obey and serve me, and not 
to worship the idols of the people 
who live near you; but you have 
not obeyed my command.” Then 
the prophet went away; God sent 
no kind promise of forgiveness to 
His ungrateful people, for He wished 
them to feel sorry, and to know how 
sad it is to be without His love and 
blessing. And did God give up the 
Israelites to their enemies ? Would 
He hear their prayers no more ? 
No, God was very merciful; He 
was angry with His people, but He 
did not forsake them. He had heard 
their prayers, and now he was going 
to save them. 

There was a man who lived in 
Ophrah named Joash, and he had 
a son named Gideon. Gideon was 
a true servant of the Lord; but his 
father was an idolater, and wor¬ 
shipped Baal. One day, Gideon 
was threshing wheat in a very secret 
place, for he was afraid that the 
Midianites would see him, and come 
and take his com from him; and 
then he and all his family might 
die of hunger. Gideon had many 
sorrowful thoughts as he threshed | 


the wheat; but his sorrow did not 
make him idle. He trusted in God 
for deliverance; but he knew that it 
was his duty to be industrious, and 
to try to do all he could to help 
himself. Gideon had no friend to 
comfort him; his family worshipped 
Baal; he alone loved and served the 
true God. And did God forsake His 
faithful servant in the time of sor¬ 
row ? No; Gideon looked up, and 
saw an angel near him, sitting under 
an oak: the angel was come to 
comfort him, and to deliver his 
country. Gideon did not at first 
know who the angel was; but he 
heard Him say, “ The Lord is with 
thee.” How glad he was to know 
this! He had no need to fear nor 
be unhappy, if the Lord was his 
friend. 

If we are God’s people, then the 
Lord is with us too. When we are 
alone, in sorrow or in danger, though 
we may have no friends on earth, 
yet we still have God to comfort us. 
He is always near. He says to us 
in His holy word, “I will never 
leave thee, nor forsake thee.” He¬ 
brews xiii. 5. 


LXXVII. 


? 


I D E O N . 


Gideon heard the 
1 say, “ The Lord is 
thee,” he looked up 
wonder, and said, 
the Lord with us? 
Then why does He let the Midian¬ 
ites come and destroy us? Why 
does he not work miracles for us, 
as He did for our fathers, and de¬ 


liver us from our enemies ?” The 
Lord said, “ Go now, I send thee to 
save Israel from the Midianites.” 
Gideon was fearful: he had faith in 
God, but his faith was weak and 
small; and he could not believe 
that he should save Israel. “ How 
can I save my brethren ?” he said; 
“ I am poor; all my family are poor, 








BAAL’S ALTAR. 


119 


and I am the least in my father’s 
house.” But the Lord answered, 
“ I will be with thee; I will give 
thee power to smite the Midian- 
ites.” 

Gideon now began to think that 
it was not a man, nor an angel, who 
was talking to him; for neither a 
man nor an angel could give him 
power to conquer his enemies: and 
he said, “Wilt thou give me a sign, 
that I may know who thou art? 
Stay till I come again, and bring 
my offering with me.” Then Gid¬ 
eon went into the house, and made 
ready a kid, and cakes of flour; he 
put the flesh into a basket, and the 
broth into a pot, and brought all 
out to the oak tree where the angel 
was waiting. The holy angel did 
not want food to strengthen him, as 
weak, sinful men do: but he ac¬ 
cepted Gideon’s offering, and told 
him to lay the flesh and the cakes 
upon the rock, and to pour out the 
broth. Gideon knew not why, but 
he obeyed; and then the angel of 
the Lord touched, with his staff, 
the flesh and the cakes, and fire 


came out of the rock, and consumed 
them. The angel departed; Gideon 
knew not how, nor where; but now 
he knew who that angel was. Then 
Gideon cried with holy fear, “ Alas, 
0 Lord God, for I have seen an an¬ 
gel of the Lord face to face.” But 
God comforted him, and said, 
“ Peace be unto thee; fear not, thou 
shalt not dieand Gideon named 
the place “ Jehovah-shalom,” or 
“ The Lord send peace,” and built 
an altar there to the Lord. 

Gideon was young and poor, but 
God did not forget nor despise him. 
Gideon wished to serve the Lord, 
and prayed for health and strength, 
and God heard his prayer. God 
does the same now. He says, “I 
love them that love me, and they 
that seek me early shall find me.” 
Proverbs xiii. 17. He wishes the 
young to come to Him; to believe 
in Jesus, to pray to Him, to love 
Him, to give Him all their hearts, 
all their affections. Then every 
thing will be well with them, and 
God will give them peace in all 
their fears and sorrows. 


LXXVIII. 


j3 A A L ’ S 

HE night after Gideon 
had seen the angel of the 
Lord, God spoke to him 
again. There was much 
for Gideon to do, and he 
must not be idle; he must show all 
the idolatrous people around him, 
that he loved and served the true 
God. God said to him, “ Take thy 


LTAR, 

father’s bullock, and throw down 
the altar of Baal which thy father 
has, and build an altar unto the 
Lord, and offer the bullock in sacri¬ 
fice upon it.” Gideon’s family all 
worshipped Baal; they might be 
very angry if the idol altar was 
thrown down; perhaps they might 
kill Gideon. Was he not afraid to 











120 


THE LITTE ARMY. 


obey God? No; Gideon knew 
that he ought to fear God more 
than men. He knew that God had 
promised to be with him, and that 
He had power to keep him safely 
from all his enemies. So Gideon 
rose directly; he thought it best to 
destroy Baal’s altar in the night, 
because he feared the men of the 
city might try to prevent him, 
if he waited till morning. He was 
right; when we have work to do, 
we should always do it directly: the 
sooner the better. 

When the people rose next day, 
they wondered to see Baal’s altar 
thrown down, and a new altar to 
God ready built, and a bullock of¬ 
fered upon it. Then they asked, 
“ Who did all this ?” and soon they 
heard that Gideon had done it. He 
was not afraid to confess the truth; 
he was bold, because he knew God 
was with him. But the people 
were all very angry with Gideon, 
and they said to Joash, “ Bring out 
thy son, that he may die.” 

Satan’s people have often tried to 
destroy God’s people in all ages of 


the world: many holy martyrs have 
suffered, because they would not 
worship idols, nor obey the wicked 
commands of men. These faithful 
servants of God, like Gideon, were 
not afraid to confess their belief in 
the true God. They thought it 
better to obey God and die, than to 
disobey Him and live. They trusted 
boldly in Him alone, and then they 
went to cruel, painful deaths, peace¬ 
fully and happily. 

But was Gideon killed? No; 
God had given him work to do, and 
He helped him to do it, and did not 
let his enemies hurt him. Joash 
was not angry, but kind and gentle 
to his son ; and he said that all who 
tried to build again the altar of 
Baal should be put to death, be¬ 
cause Baal was a vain idol, and 
could not save himself. All the 
Midianites and Amalekites were 
now gathered together at Jezreel; 
but Gideon did not fear them, be¬ 
cause God’s Spirit came upon him; 
and he blew a trumpet, and called 
together a great many soldiers, and 
made them ready to fight. 


LXXIX. 


JHB piTT 

EFOKE Gideon began to 
fight, he asked God to 
promise to save Israel from 
the Midianites. He said, 
“Give me now a sign, 
that I may know that thou wilt be 
merciful to the Israelites. I will 
put a fleece of wool upon the ground 
to-night; in the morning I will 
look at it; and if I see the fleece 
wet with dew, and all the ground 


LE Jk. R M Y . 

dry, then I shall know that thou 
dost promise to save us from our 
enemies.” Gideon put the fleece of 
wool upon the ground, and God 
heard his prayer. In the morning, 
when Gideon looked at it, it was very 
wet, and he wrung from the fleece 
a bowl full of water; but there was 
no dew upon the ground. 

We know that the moisture in 
the air, which we cannot see by day, 









GIDEON CHOOSES THE THREE HUNDRED 

Judges vii. 6. 




























































% 

















l 






















\ 


































THE LITTLE ARMY. 


121 


becomes cool at night, and turns to 
dew. But why was the fleece alone 
wet, and everything else dry ? Be¬ 
cause God had heard the prayer of 
Gideon, and He wished to show him 
that He can do all things, and to 
teach him to trust in Him. The 
next night, Gideon asked God to 
let him try the fleece again. He 
said, “ To-night, let the fleece alone 
be dry, and all the ground wet, and 
then I shall know that thou wilt 
save Israel.” God again attended 
to Gideon ; and the next morning, 
all the ground was wet with dew, 
and the wool alone was dry. Was 
this wonderful ? Yes, it was a mir¬ 
acle God alone could do; and when 
Gideon saw it, he felt he might trust 
his powerful, kind, and wonderful 
God. His faith was strong now, 
for he thought, if this powerful 
friend were with him, he need not 
fear the Midianites. 

Gideon was not going to fight 
alone; he had many thousand men 
with him. But God wished to teach 
the Israelites that their soldiers had 
no power to gain the victory, and 
that He alone could save them ; and 
so He told Gideon to say to the sol¬ 
diers, that if they were afraid, they 
might return home, and not come 
to the battle; and 22,000 went 
away. They could not have had 
much faith in God, nor much holy 
courage; they were weak, fearful 
men, who would not have helped 
Gideon to fight against the enemy. 
The army was small now; only 


10,000 men; but God said, “I do 
not want so many ; if all these sol¬ 
diers go, the Israelites will say that 
their own power and courage gained 
the victory. Bring the 10,000 down 
to the water, and let them drink; 
notice the men who lap the water 
like a dog, and put them on one 
side; and the men who kneel 
down to drink water, put on the 
other side; and I will tell thee whom 
I choose to fight against the Mid 
ianites.” Gideon obeyed God, with¬ 
out murmuring, or asking why. He 
brought all the soldiers to the water, 
and told them to drink. A few of 
them lapped, putting their hands to 
their mouths; but all the others 
stooped down on their knees to 
drink. Gideon counted those who 
lapped; they were 300. Then God 
said, “ By the 300 men who lapped 
will I save you; let all the others 
return home.” 

Gideon had a very, very small 
army now. The Midianites were in 
great numbers; the Israelites only 
300. Was he frightened ? No; he 
had no need to fear, for God was 
with him, and He was stronger than 
all. Perhaps when Gideon looked 
upon the great army of the Midian¬ 
ites, he felt fearful; but when he look¬ 
ed up to God in faith and prayer, 
his fear was gone, because he knew 
he might trust in Him. Try to be 
like Gideon; and when you are in 
trouble, or sorrow, or difficulty, look 
to God for deliverance, and to Him 
alone. 




122 


THE HIGHT BEFORE THE BATTLE. 


LXXX. 


J H E 


IGHT BEFORE THE 


J3 A 


T T L E 


T was night. To-morrow, 
Gideon and his army must 
go and fight against their 
cruel enemies the Midian- 
ites. How did Gideon 
feel ? A battle is a very dangerous 
thing. Gideon could not tell who 
might be killed ; perhaps he might 
die, perhaps some of his dear friends; 
but he did not fear, because God was 
with him, and had promised him the 
victory. Captains and commanders 
of armies may be quiet and happy, 
if they are ready to die ; they need 
not be afraid in the most dangerous 
battle, if God he with them. 

While Gideon was lying down to 
rest, and his 300 soldiers by him, he 
heard a voice calling to him. Who 
spoke ? Was it an enemy come to 
kill him, and his little army ? No, 
it was no enemy; it was Gideon’s 
best Friend who spoke to him,—it 
was the voice of God. When all 
are asleep, the eye of God is still 
open; He never sleeps, hut watches 
over His people, and keeps them in 
safety. How pleasant it is to be the 
people of God, and to have our kind 
Father and Friend to take care of 
us, when we are sleeping upon our 
beds, in the long dark night! 

But why did God speak to Gideon ? 
He came to comfort him. God 
knew all Gideon felt: all his fears 
and sorrows were remembered by 
Him; and now He came to encour¬ 
age him before the battle began. 
God said to Gideon, “ Arise, go 
down to the army of the Midianites. 
If thou fear to go alone, take Phurah 
thy servant with thee; go and hear 


what the Midianites say, and after¬ 
wards thou shalt feel strengthened 
to go down to the army.” So 
Gideon and his servant Phurah 
went directly, as God commanded. 
They went, without fear, very near 
to their enemies, because they knew 
that God was with them, and would 
keep them safely. The tents of the 
Midianites and the Amalekites cov¬ 
ered all the valley; they were very 
many. The soldiers were sleeping 
in the tents, and their camels lay by 
them; they were so many, Gideon 
could not count them. But the 
Midianites were not all asleep; some 
were keeping watch, and some were 
making ready for the morrow, and 
some were talking; but none of 
them saw Gideon and his servant. 
There were two men, Midianites, 
talking together, and Gideon and 
Phurah went near to them, to hear 
what they said. One man was telling 
his dream to his friend; he said, 
“I dreamed that I saw a cake of 
bread tumble into the hosts of the 
Midianites; I saw it fall upon a 
tent, and the tent was overturned, 
and thrown down. ’ His friend 
answered, “That cake of bread is 
Gideon, the commander of the Is¬ 
raelites; he will fall upon us, and 
destroy our army, because God is 
with him.” When Gideon heard 
what the man said, he rejoiced, and 
thanked and worshipped God. He 
felt now sure of the victory. Then 
he and Phurah went hack to the 
Israelites, and Gideon said, “ Arise, 
for God gives the Midianites into 
our hand.” 






GIDEON’S VICTORY. 


123 


God, who gave peace and comfort 
to Gideon and his little army, put 
fear and sorrow into the hearts of 


the Midianites. He sent a voice of 
love to His friends; He sent fearful 
dreams to frighten His enemies. 


LXXXI. 


jj I DE ON ' S 

IDEON divided his army 
into three companies, and 
gave every man a trumpet 
and a pitcher, and a lamp 
in every pitcher. They 
had no swords, nor spears, nor 
bows, nor arrows. They had God 
to fight for them, and they did not 
want arms. Then Gideon said, 
“Come with me, and do as I do. 
When I blow with the trumpet, you 
must blow too, and cry/The sword 
of the Lord, and of Gideon.’ ” The 
people did not murmur at Gideon’s 
command, for they were humble 
and obedient servants and soldiers 
of God. He had taught them to 
trust and to obey. 

It was still night when Gideon 
went again, with his soldiers, to the 
camp of the Midianites. They all 
stood round the camp, and when 
Gideon commanded, they blew with 
the trumpets, and broke the pitchers, 
and cried aloud, “ The sword of the 
Lord, and of Gideon.” The Midian¬ 
ites heard the noise, and the shout, 
and were very much frightened, for 
God had made them fear. They 
knew not what to do; they were 
like wild mad men. They all 
fell one upon another, and killed 
their own friends, and fathers, and 
brothers, and those who were not 
killed fled away, and the Israelites 
fallowed after them, and killed them. 
Gideon took the two kings of the 
Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb, and put 


y I C T O R Y. 

them both to death, and cut off 
their heads. Then he came to Jor¬ 
dan, and took two more kings of 
Midian, Zeba and Zalmunna, and 
killed them. 

When Gideon had gained all these 
victories, the Israelites came and 
thanked him. They felt very grate¬ 
ful for all he had done, and they 
said, “ Come and rule over us, and 
be our king, and we will serve and 
obey thee.” But Gideon was not 
an ambitious man; he did not want 
power, nor riches, nor possessions; 
he wanted only to be useful. We 
read in history about many great 
conquerors, who fought battles, and 
conquered enemies, and gained vic¬ 
tories, because they wished to be 
rich, and powerful, and to have 
great possessions; they were ambi¬ 
tious, selfish men; they thought only 
of pleasing themselves, not of plea¬ 
sing God, nor of being useful. But 
Gideon was not like these men. He 
was a servant of God; and God’s 
servants must be meek and humble, 
like Jesus Christ. So when the Is¬ 
raelites asked Gideon to be king, he 
said, “No, I do not wish to rule 
over you; the Lord is your king; 
obey Him.” But Gideon asked 
them to give him all the earrings 
and gold chains, which they had 
taken from their enemies. The peo¬ 
ple said, “ Yes, we will willingly give 
them; ” and they spread out a large 
garment, and threw into it all the 









124 


ABIMELECH. 


earrings and chains they had, a very 
great number, and purple garments, 
and many more beautiful things. 
Gideon took all, and made them 
into an ephod like Aaron’s ephod, 
and took it into his own city Oph- 
rah. Gideon made the ephod in re¬ 
membrance of his victory. He was 
right to remember God’s kindness 
in giving him the victory, but it 
was very wrong to make an ephod, 
a holy garment which God com¬ 
manded the priests alone to wear. 

This was the beginning of idol¬ 
atry. The Israelites now learnt to 
worship in their own way at Ophrah, 


and not in the right way at Shiloh, 
the place appointed by God. Gideon 
was a good man, but when he trusted 
in his own strength, he did wrong. 
The best people sin often, and 
should always be coming to God to 
ask for pardon for the past, and 
grace for the future. If Gideon 
sinned, we may believe he prayed 
for forgiveness, and that God heard 
his prayer, and pardoned him. But 
it must have grieved him very much 
to see his family and his people 
learning idolatry through his sin. 
He died a very old man, and was 
buried in his father’s tomb at Ophrah. 


LXXXII. 

p BIMELECH, 


R Gideon was dead, 
Israelites again for- 
God, and worshipped 
s. They had none 
now to warn them, and 
they were glad to have their own 
way. We do not worship images, as 
the Israelites did; but we often for¬ 
get God, and love the world, and 
ourselves, and our pleasures, better 
than we love Him. If we love any¬ 
thing better than we love God, we 
make an idol of it. Many people 
make idols of money, and posses¬ 
sions, and self; and they serve them, 
as the Israelites served Baal. 

Gideon had many sons, but they 
were not like him. The name of 
one was Abimelech. He was a very 
ambitious man, and wanted to be 
king. He went to Shechem, and 
asked the people there, to let him 
reign over them. The men of She¬ 
chem were pleased with Abimelech, 


and they attended to what he said 
and gave him money, and promised 
to make him king. Then he went 
home to Ophrah, and called his 
brothers together, and killed them 
upon one stone; all but the young¬ 
est, named Jotham, who hid him¬ 
self, and escaped. Why did Abime¬ 
lech kill his brothers ? Because he 
feared they might wish to reign too, 
and he wanted to be king alone. 

When the brothers were dead, the 
men of Shechem made Abimelech 
king. He reigned three years; and 
his brother Jotham lived far away 
from him, because he was afraid of 
Abimelech. Was Abimelech very 
happy when he was king? No; 
wicked men cannot be very happy; 
power and riches cannot make 
them so. 

The people in Shechem soon grew 
tired of their cruel king. God re¬ 
membered all that Abimelech had 









JEPHTHAH. 


125 


done to his brothers; and now He 
was going to punish him. The 
people in Shechem rebelled, and 
would obey Abimelech no more. 
So Abimelech came and fought 
against them, and conquered the 
rebellious Shechemites. Some of 
them escaped to an idol temple, 
and hid there. But Abimelech and 
his soldiers cut down boughs from 
the tree, and put the boughs under 
the place where the people were 
hid, and set it on fire; and the 
people were all burnt to death. 
Then Abimelech went to a city 
named Thebez, and tried to take it. 
The people in Thebez went up to a 
high strong tower; and Abimelech 
was under the tower fighting against 
it. Then a woman on the top of 
the tower took a very large mill¬ 
stone, and threw it down upon 
Abimelech’s head. Abimelech was 
much hurt by the stone, and felt 
that he must soon die, and he cried 
to a soldier near him, “ Thrust thy 
sword into me, and slay me; for I 


will not let people say that a woman 
killed me.” So the soldier thrust 
his sword into him, and Abimelech 
fell down dead. God punished this 
wicked, proud, ambitious man, and 
all the wicked people who had 
helped him. 

It is a fearful thing to make God 
angry; He always punishes His 
enemies. Perhaps he spares them 
a long time, and lets them live 
many years in sin and cruelty; but 
if they do not repent, He must 
punish them at last. He sees the 
wicked things people do, and writes 
all down in the book of His remem¬ 
brance., All our sins are there; and 
in the day of judgment it must be 
opened, and read before the world, 
and before the holy angels. What 
can blot out our sins from that 
book ? The blood of Jesus Christ 
alone. Ask forgiveness then from 
Him; and pray that your name 
may be written in the book of life, 
with those of all His people who 
love and serve Him. 


LXXXIII. 


f 


E 


P 


H T H A H . 



HERE was a man in 
Gilead named Jephthah; 
he was very brave and 
warlike; but his brothers 
did not love him, and 
they sent him away, and would not 
let him live with them. Some years 
after, the Ammonites came and 
fought against Israel. Then the 
men of Gilead were very much 
frightened, and they sent for Jeph¬ 
thah, to help them to conquer their 
enemies. How very selfish these 


Gileadites were! When they were 
in peace and safety, they could be 
unkind to their brother; but now, 
when they were in danger and sor¬ 
row, they wished to have him to 
help them, and spoke kindly to 
him. Brotherly love, which the 
Bible teaches us, is always kind. 
We ought to love our friends, not 
because they are useful to us, but 
because God says, “ Be ye kind one 
to another.” 

When Jephthah heard what the 









126 


JEPHTHAH. 


messengers said, lie answered, “ Did 
you not hate me, and send me away; 
why do you come to me now when 
you are in trouble ?” But the Gil¬ 
eadites promised to make Jephthah 
their captain, if he would come and 
fight for them. So Jephthah for¬ 
gave their past unkindness, and 
went to them. 

The Ammonites were very wicked 
people. They had always been ene¬ 
mies to Israel, and God commanded 
that they should be destroyed, and 
He promised to give their posses¬ 
sions to the Israelites. Jephthah 
sent to the Ammonites, and told 
them this; but they would not at¬ 
tend. Then Jephthah made ready 
to fight against them. But before 
he went to the battle, he asked God’s 
help and made a promise to God, 
and said, “ If thou wilt give me the 
victory, then the first thing I meet 
at the door of my house, when I 
return in peace, shall be the Lord’s; 
and I will offer it up for a burnt 
offering.” Jephthah was right to 
ask God’s help; but he made his 
vow too hastily, without thinking 
if it were wise to make it, or 
not. 

The Ammonites were soon con¬ 
quered, and very many of them 
killed, because God fought for the 
Israelites; and when the battle 
was ended Jephthah went home 
again to Mizpeh. Jephthah had 
one child, a daughter; he had no 
more children, and she was very 
dear to him. This daughter loved 
her father very much. And when 
she heard of the victory, she 
thought she should soon see her 
dear father again. So she waited 
and looked ior him, and when she 
saw him coming, she ran out to 


meet him, dancing and singing for 
joy. Was Jephthah glad to see 
her? No, he was very sorry; he 
rent his clothes, and cried, “ 0 my 
daughter, thou troublest me; for I 
have made a promise to the Lord, 
and I cannot break my vow.” But 
his daughter said, “ My father, do 
not weep; if thou hast made a vow 
to the Lord, do to me as thou hast 
promised. God has been very mer¬ 
ciful to us, and I am ready and 
willing to bear all thou hast vowed 
to do.” 

Jephthah thought now of his 
foolish vow, and was sorry that 
he had made it. He must give up 
his dear daughter, and never see her 
again! But first she asked to go 
upon the mountains, and to mourn 
there with her friends. Her father 
let her go; and, after two months, 
she came home again, and Jeph¬ 
thah did with her as he had vowed. 

What did he do? The Bible 
does not say. Perhaps he killed 
her in sacrifice; perhaps he sent 
her far away, alone, where she could 
spend all her time in the service of 
God. Jephthah was right to be so 
thankful to God; he was right to 
love God better than all the world, 
better even than his dear child; 
but if he sacrificed his daughter, 
Jephthah did wrong. God does 
not want such sacrifices; He only 
wants praise, and thankfulness, and 
love. 

Jephthah’s daughter was an obe¬ 
dient, affectionate child; she was 
willing to be given up to God; to 
die or to live, as her father pleased. 
We should try to be like her in obe¬ 
dience and devotedness to God. He 
does not wish us to be sacrificed, 
nor to live alone, far away from our 



manoah. 


12 ? 


friends and homes; God does not obey His will, and to be ready to 
wish all this; but he wants our live or die as He pleases, 
hearts, our love; He wants us to 


LXXXIV. 
yVL A N O A H . 


EPHTHAH judged Is¬ 
rael six years, and then 
died. And now the peo¬ 
ple began again to sin 
against the Lord, and He 
gave them up to their enemies the 
Philistines for forty years. This 
was a long time to he in sorrow and 
trouble; but the Israelites deserved 
punishment. Many times they had 
displeased God, and now He showed 
them again the evil of sin, by let¬ 
ting them suffer. But God did not 
forget His people, though He pun¬ 
ished them ; He knew how to 
deliver at the right time, and He 
had a deliverer ready to save them 
when He pleased. 

There was a good man in the 
tribe of Dan, named Manoah. He 
and his wife both served God. They 
had no child. One day, an angel 
of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s 
wife, and said, “ Soon God will give | 
thee a son, who shall deliver Israel 
from the Philistines. No razor 
must come upon him, for he shall 
be a Nazarite unto God.” 

Who were the Nazarites ? They 
were people who had made a vow 
to give themselves to God. They 
did not drink wine, nor any strong 
liquor; and they never cut their 
hair nor shaved their heads. 

Manoah’s wife wondered very 
much to hear what the angel said, 
and she went and told her husband. 


Manoah believed it all, for he had 
great faith in God. He knew that 
nothing was too wonderful for God 
to do: and he felt very thankful for 
God’s promise to deliver Israel by 
the child who should soon be born. 
But Manoah feared that he and his 
wife might forget what the angel 
had said, and not bring up their 
child rightly; so he prayed God to 
send the angel to them again, to 
tell them what they must do. 

God heard Manoah’s prayer. A 
few days after, the woman was sit¬ 
ting alone in the field, and she 
looked up, and saw the angel again 
standing by her; then she ran di¬ 
rectly, and called her husband. 
Manoah followed his wife, and came 
to the angel, and asked, “What 
shall we do to the child when he is 
born ? ” The angel told them what 
he had told the woman before, and 
then Manoah said, “Stay here till 
we have made ready a kid for thee.” 
The angel answered, “I will not 
eat of thy bread; and if thou wilt 
offer a sacrifice, offer it to God.” 
Manoah did not know who the an¬ 
gel was, and he asked again, “What 
is thy name ? ” But the angel an¬ 
swered, “Why dost thou ask my 
name? It is a very secret, and a 
very wonderful name.” . Then Ma¬ 
noah offered a kid in sacrifice to the 
Lord upon the rock, and God sent 
fire upon the sacrifice to consume 









128 


SAMSONS FEAST. 


it, and Manoah and liis wife T&oked 
at the angel, and they saw him go¬ 
ing up to heaven in the flame of 
fire. Then they both fell upon 
their faces in holy fear and wonder, 
and Manoah said, “Now we shall 
die, because we have seen God.” 

The woman said to her husband, 
“Do not be afraid. God has just 


shown us wonderful things, and has 
accepted our sacrifice, and He can 
not surely wish to hurt or frighten 
us.” No, the Lord never does any¬ 
thing to hurt His people; He comes 
to them in love; and they are hap¬ 
py people who have Jesus for their 
Friend, as Manoah and his wife 
had. 


LXXXV. 


A M S O N ’ 

l^jC^IANOAH and his wife did 
1 AW. fj not afterwards see the 
I HI angel of the Lord; but 
iySjJGod remembered His 
promise, and very soon 
sent them a little son, and they 
called him Samson. Samson’s par¬ 
ents were very careful to attend to 
all God’s commands about him. 
They remembered that he was to be 
given to God; that he was to be a 
Nazarite; to drink no wine; and 
not to shave his head, nor cut his 
hair. Samson was wonderfully 
strong. God had given him great 
strength, because He had much for 
him to do; he was to deliver Israel 
from the Philistines. 

When Samson was grown up, he 
went to Timnath with his father 
and mother, to marry a young wo¬ 
man who was a Philistine. As he 
passed the vineyards of Timnath, a 
lion rushed out of the woods, and 
began to roar against him. Was 
Samson frightened ? No; he was 
a very bold man, and he ran to the 
lion, and tore it to pieces, without a 
stick, or sword, or spear; with his 
great strength alone. Samson said 


S y EAST. 

nothing to his father or mother, but 
went on, and came to Timnath. 

After a time, Samson passed again 
along the place where he had killed 
the lion, and he went and looked at 
the dead body of the animal. What 
did he see there ? Some wild bees 
had made their nest in the lion, and 
Samson found much honey there; 
so lie took it, and ate, and gave 
some to his father and mother; but 
he did not tell them. where he 
found it. 

Samson made a feast at Timnath; 
and when the company were all 
talking merrily together, he said, 
“ I will give you a riddle to guess; 
if you guess right, I will give you 
thirty sheets, and thirty garments; 
but if you cannot guess, you shall 
give me thirty sheets and thirty 
garments.” Then the people said, 
“ Tell us the riddle, and we will try 
to guess it.” Samson said, “ Out 
of the eater came forth meat; and 
out of the strong came forth sweet¬ 
ness.” The eater was the strong 
lion; and the meat was the sweet 
honey Samson found in it: but no 
one knew the story of the lion, and 








SAMSON PUTS FORTH A RIDDLE. Judges xiv. 12. 



Tissot Picture Society, New York. Copyright by de Brunoff, 1904 . 

“And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if 
ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it 
out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments.” 













SAMSON AND THE PHILISTINES. 


129 


they could not guess the riddle. 
They tried six days, and then they 
called their friend, Samson’s wife, 
and said, “Ask Samson to explain 
the riddle to thee, or else we will 
burn thee and thy father’s house 
with fire.” The woman asked her 
husband, and at last he explained 


the riddle to her, and she went 
directly and told the Philistines. 
Then they came to Samson, and 
said, “ What is so strong as a lion, 
and what is so sweet as honey?” 
But Samson said, “My wife told 
you, or you could not have guessed 
my riddle.” 


LXXXYI. 


JS A 


MSON AND THE 


r 


HI LISTINES 


S AMSON was obliged to 
give what he promised to 
the \iien who found out 
the riddle. But how did 
he get the garments and 
the sheets ? He went down to 
Askelon, and killed thirty men of 
the Philistines, and took from them 
what he wanted to give to the men 
who told the riddle. Soon after, 
Samson’s wife was taken away from 
him, and then Samson began to be 
very angry with the Philistines. He 
caught 300 foxes, and tied firebrands 
at their tails, and drove them into 
the corn fields belonging to the 
Philistines; and all the corn, and 
vineyards, and olives were burnt. 
Then the Philistines asked, “Who 
did this ?” The people said, “ Sam¬ 
son did it, because his wife has been 
taken awayand the Philistines 
went, and burnt Samson’s wife and 
her father with fire. Then Samson 
was still more angry, and he killed 
a great number of the Philistines, 
and then went to the top of a rock, 
and lived there. 

The Philistines now went to fight 
against Judah, and they said they 
must have Samson, and bind him, 
and take him prisoner. The peo¬ 


ple of Judah were frightened, and 
they went up to Samson, and said, 
“We are come to bind thee; we 
will not kill thee; but we will give 
thee into the hands of the Philis¬ 
tines.” Then they bound him with 
two new ropes, and led him away. 
But God gave Samson strength to 
break the ropes, and he soon escaped, 
and took up the jawbone of an ass, 
which he found on the way, and with 
it killed 1000 men of the Philistines. 

After the slaughter, Samson was 
very thirsty, and he cried to God, 
and thanked Him for deliverance, 
and asked for water, that he might 
not die of thirst. It was right of 
Samson to go to God in his troubles. 
We ought always to tell Him when 
we are in want, and ask Him to 
give us what is right. God heard 
Samson’s prayer. He caused water 
to spring up like a well, and Samson 
drank, and became strong again. 

God raised up Samson to deliver 
his country from the Philistines, 
and He gave him great strength, 
and boldness, and courage to do it. 
Samson was not so meek, and gen- 
tie, and kind, as many people of 
whom we read in the Bible. He 
was not like Abraham, nor Moses; 







130 


SAMSON TAKEN. 


sometimes he was revengeful and 
passionate; but we may hope, that 
Samson was a true servant of God, 


and that he trusted in Him for 
strength to fight against his ene¬ 
mies. 


oCOO 


LXXXVII. 




A M S O N 



OON after, Samson went 
to Gaza. The people 
heard he was there, and 
they waited quietly for 
him all night, and said, 
“ In the morning we shall kill him.” 
But Samson arose in the night, 
and went to the gate of the city, and 
took it up, and the posts, and the 
bar, and carried them upon his 
shoulders to the top of a hill near 
Hebron. What wonderful strength 
Samson had! Who gave it to 
him? God, who gives us all our 
good things. And why did God 
give so much strength to Samson ? 
Because He had chosen Samson to 
conquer the Philistines, and to de¬ 


liver His people Israel. 

Samson had now another wife; 
her name was Delilah. The Philis¬ 
tines wanted very much to know 
what made Samson strong, and 
they went to Delilah, and said, 
“ Ask Samson what makes him so 
strong, and how we can bind him; 
and we will each give thee 1100 
pieces of silver.” Delilah did not 
care much for her husband, and she 
was very fond of money; so she 
went to Samson, and asked him to 
tell her what made him so strong. 
Samson did not wish her to know, 
and he deceived her, and said, “ Let 
them' bind me with seven fresh 
green withes.” Then Delilah told 
the Philistines, and they brought 


y A K E N . 

the withes, and she bound Samson 
with them, and the Philistines wait¬ 
ed secretly hid in the room. Then 
Delilah cried, “ The Philistines are 
upon thee, Samson;” and Samson 
broke the withes directly, and the 
Philistines could not bind him. 
Then Delilah asked Samson again, 
to tell her what made nim so strong; 
and he said, “ Let them bind me 
with new ropes.” Delilah bound 
him with the ropes, and cried again, 
“The Philistines are upon thee, 
Samson,” and he broke tbe ropes 
like little threads, and escaped again. 
Then Delilah said, “Now do not 
deceive me, tell me the truth ; how 
shall I bind thee ?” He said, “ Weave 
the hair of my head with the web.” 
When Samson was asleep, Delilah 
wove his hair, and fastened it very 
strongly ; then she told him the 
Philistines were coming, and he 
awoke directly, and went away with 
the pin, and the beam, and the web. 
Then Delilah said, “ Why hast thou 
deceived me these three times ? 
Tell me now where thy great 
strength lies ?” Samson was tired 
of his wife’s asking him so often; 
and he now told her all the truth. 
He said, “I am a Nazarite to God! 
and I have never shaven my head; 
but, if my hair is cut off, then shall I 
become weak like other men.” Then 
Delilah sent to the Philistines, and 
said, “ Come once again; Samson 







SAMSON’S DEATH. 


13 ? 


has told me the truth; I know now 
what it is makes him so strong.” 

The lords of the Philistines were 
very glad to think that they should 
soon have their enemy in their 
power; and they came directly, and 
brought money with them to give 
Delilah. Then the cruel wife, when 
Samson was asleep, called a man, 
and told him to shave off all Sam¬ 
son’s hair; and when he had finished, 
Delilah cried, “ The Philistines are 
upon thee, Samson.” Samson arose, 
but his strength was gone; God 
had taken it all away. He could 
not defend himself now; and his 
enemies came, and took him, and 
put out his eyes, and bound him in 
chains, and carried him to Gaza, 
and made him work hard in the 
prison there. 


He ought not to have told his 
secret, nor to let his hair be shaved, 
because God had commanded that 
no razor should come on his head. 
God punished him by taking away 
his strength. Delilah was not a 
kind and affectionate friend to her 
husband, but his deceitful wicked 
enemy. 

This world is full of sorrow. We 
cannot trust to anything in it. 
Our friends may forsake us, and 
become unkind; our health and 
strength may be taken away; we 
may lose all we have, and be left 
sick, and sorrowful, and have none 
to comfort us. Then we ought not 
to set our affections on anything 
here, but put our trust in God; He 
alone will never forsake us. 


LXXXVIII. 


amson's 

AMSON was now in prison 
at Gaza, alone and blind, 
without any friend to 
comfort him. He had 
much time then to think 
about God, and to pray for the par¬ 
don of all his sins. 

God often afflicts His people ; but 
he afflicts them in love. He wants 
them to pray to Him, and to love 
'Him more. When they are well 
and busy, they often forget God; 
they think too much about worldly 
things, and too little about heavenly 
things; and then God sends afflic¬ 
tion to make them remember Him. 
Perhaps He makes them lie many 
days upon a bed of sickness; or He 
takes away their friends, or their 


JD eath, 

comforts, and then they are left 
alone and in sorrow, like Samson 
in his prison-house. God sends all 
these sorrows. Why ? Does God 
like to see His people unhappy, and 
in pain ? No; “ God is love;” and 
when He sends affliction He sends 
it in love. He wishes His people to 
forget the world and worldly things, 
and to love and trust in Him only; 
and He gives them time and quiet, 
when they are sick and alone, to 
think about Him, and to pray to 
Him. 

Perhaps Samson had been very 
proud of his great strength; now 
he had lost it, and God taught him 
that he had no power in himself: 
all the strength Samson had, God 









132 


NAOMI AND RUTH. 


gave, and God could take away. 
When Samson first went to prison, 
his strength was all gone; but after 
a time, his hair began to grow, and 
then his strength came again. 

The Philistines worshipped an 
ugly idol like a fish, named Dagon. 
They made a great sacrifice to 
Dagon, and praised him, because 
they thought he had given Samson 
into their hands. They were very 
merry, playing, and laughing, and 
feasting, and praising their idol; 
and they said, “ Let us call Samson, 
and we will play with him, and 
laugh at him, and make merry.” 
Then Samson was led in; he could 
not see his cruel enemies, and they 
all laughed at him, because he was 
blind, and weak, and in their power; 
and they made him stand between 
two pillars. 

The house where they were was 
very large, and full of people; men, 
and women, and children; and about 
3000 of them were upon the roof, 
looking and wondering at Samson. 
Samson asked the boy who led him, 
to let him lean upon the pillars on 


which the house stood, and he took 
hold of one with his right hand, and 
of the other with his left hand. 
Then Samson prayed to God, and 
said, “ Lord, give me now strength 
to conquer my enemies; let them 
die, and let me die with them.” 
Then Samson bowed himself down 
with all his might, and pulled the 
pillars, and they fell, and the house, 
and the people who were upon the 
roof. All died, and Samson died 
too. He had killed many people 
who were his enemies, when he was 
alive and strong; and now, at his 
death, he killed many more. 

God punished the wicked Philis¬ 
tines, because they were cruel to 
Samson, and enemies of Israel. God 
knows how to save His people. He 
gave Samson strength to save Israel 
from the Philistines. If we have 
strength and health, we must try to 
use them rightly, and to do good to 
other people, and not be idle and 
selfish. It is God who gives us 
every thing, and we must thank 
Him and serve Him with all we 
have. 


=CCC=- 


LXXXIX. 




O M I AND 


^ U 


T H 


lived in Bethlehem 
l named Elimelech; 
ad a wife named 
i, and two sons, 
named Mahlon and Chili- 
on. Elimelech and his family lived 
many years very happily at Bethle¬ 
hem ; but after a time, God sent a 
famine upon the land, and all the 
people there were very much dis¬ 
tressed. It is God who gives us corn 


for bread, and sends us the fruits of 
the earth at the right season; we 
ought to be very thankful for all 
these mercies. But sometimes God 
is pleased not to send rain, or not to 
give us sunshine; and then the corn 
does not grow up, nor ripen, and we 
have no flour to make bread, and 
there is a famine. But in all our 
wants we ought to trust in God; 
because He has power to give us 









NAOMI AND RUTH. 


133 


what we need, and without Him 
not a sparrow can fall to the 
ground. 

When the famine was very bad in 
Bethlehem, Elimelech and his family 
went to Moab to live there. Were 
they right to go ? No; because the 
people of Moab were wicked idola¬ 
tors. God’s people ought not to go 
to places where they may learn to 
sin. 

When they came to Moab, Mahlon 
and Chilion married wives of the 
women of Moab; they were idolators, 
and their names were Orpah and 
Ruth. Mahlon and Chilion did not 
live long; they both died, and 
Elimelech died too; and Naomi was 
left with her two daughters-in-law. 
She had none to comfort her; all 
around were idolators, and she 
wished to be in her own country 
again, where she might hear about 
God. 

When the famine was over, Naomi 
said she would return to her own 
land. Orpah and Ruth were both 
very kind and affectionate to Naomi, 
and they said they would go with 
her; but Naomi did not wish to take 
her daughters to a new country, 
against their will; and she wished 
to try their love for her; so she said 
“No, my daughters, do not go with 
me; go home to your own country, 
and to your parents,and your friends, 
and may God deal kindly with you, 
as you have dealt with the dead, and 
with me ” 


Then Naomi kissed them, and 
they both wept, and said, “We will 
surely go with thee to Bethlehem.” 
But Naomi said again, “Nay, my 
daughters, return to your homes; 
why will you go with me ? ” Then 
they wept again, and Orpah kissed 
her mother-in-law, and went away. 
Did not Ruth go? No; she threw 
her arms around Naomi, and would 
not leave her. But Naomi said, 
‘See, Orpah is gone home to her 
friends, and to her gods; return 
thou after her.” Then Ruth an¬ 
swered, “0 do not tell me to go 
away; let me follow thee: where 
thou goest, I will go; thy people 
shall be my people, and thy God my 
God; where thou diest, I will die, 
and there will I be buried; only 
death shall part thee and me.” 
Naomi was very happy to hear Ruth 
say this, for Naomi loved God, and 
she wished Ruth to love Him too. 

Young people should try to be 
like Ruth; gentle, and affectionate, 
and humble. Orpah was affectionate 
and kind; but she loved her idols 
and her country people best, and 
could not leave them. Ruth left 
all, because she loved best the wor¬ 
ship of the true God. Do you wish 
to love God ? Then you must leave 
the things of the world, and the 
people who do not love God; and 
give yourself up to his service, and 
try to be with those who love and 
serve Him. 



134 


THE HARVEST FIELD. 


xc. 


^ HE 


t 1 


ARYEST 


j^IELD. 



AOMI and Ruth went on 
together, and come to 
Bethlehem. Bethlehem 
had been Naomi’s home; 
and many other old friends 
still lived there. When they heard 
that Naomi was come, they all ran 
to see her. But when they looked 
at her, they said, “ Is this Naomi ? ” 
Why did they ask ? Because Nao¬ 
mi was so very much altered. When 
she lived before at Bethlehem, she 
was happy with her husband and 
her sons; but now, they were all 
gone, and she was left alone. She 
told her friends the sad story, that 
God had taken away her husband 
and her sons; and now she was a 
poor widow, and had come home to 
die in her own country. 

When Naomi and Ruth came to 
Bethlehem, it was harvest time, and 
the people were all very busy reap¬ 
ing barley. It is pleasant to see the 
men reaping the yellow corn, and 
binding it in sheaves; and then the 
poor people are glad to follow them, 
and gather up the corn left on the 
ground. 

When Ruth was living at home 
with Naomi, she did not wish to be 
idle. Idleness is a great sin. The 
Bible tells us not to be slothful; 


and all God’s people must try to be 
industrious and useful. What work 
did Ruth do ? She said, “ Let me 
go and glean in the fields;” and 
Naomi answered, “ Go, my daugh¬ 
ter.” All the people in Bethlehem 
were strangers to Ruth ; she had no 
friends there; but when she went 
out to glean, God was with her, and 
He led her to the right field. God 
is always near His people; and if 
they trust to Him, He will teach 
them where to go, and what to do. 
When we go out, we ought to ask 
God to go with us, and to keep and 
bless us wherever we go. 

Ruth gleaned in a field which be¬ 
longed to a man named Boaz. The 
reapers let her glean, and Ruth was 
very industrious, and did not stand 
idle. Boaz soon came to the field 
to see the reapers, and he said to 
them, “The Lord be with you.” 
And they answered, “The Lord bless 
thee.” Boaz was a servant of God; 
he loved and worshipped Him him¬ 
self, and he taught His people to 
serve Him too. When Boaz saw 
his beautiful field, and his busy 
reapers, he remembered who gave 
him all his possessions; and he 
wished his servants to think about 
God when they were at work. 





BOAZ. 


135 


XCI. 

O A Z. 


HEN Boaz looked round 
the field, he saw Ruth 
very busy gleaning, and 
he asked who she was. 
His servant said, “It is 
the damsel who came with Naomi 
from Moab.” Then Boaz went to 
her, and said, “ Stay here with my 
maidens, and follow them, and glean 
after the reapers; and when thou 
art thirsty, go and drink what my 
servants have drawn.” Ruth won¬ 
dered at the kindness of Boaz, 
whom she had never seen before, 
and she fell down humbly before 
him, and asked, “Why dost thou 
show so much kindness to me a 
stranger ?” Then Boaz said, “ Be¬ 
cause I have heard all thou hast 
done to thy mother-in-law: thou 
hast left thy home to go with her, 
and thou hast chosen the Lord to 
be thy God, and put thy trust in 
Him. May He bless and reward 
thee.” Then Ruth thanked Boaz. 
She was not proud of her goodness. 
She knew she was a sinner, and 
deserved nothing; but she felt 
thankful to God, who gave her kind 
friends in a strange country. 

When it was meal-time, Boaz 
told Ruth to sit by his servants, 
and eat; and when she had finished, 
she went again directly to her work. 
Ruth did not eat all the food given 
her, but put some away for her 
mother-in-law, and when it was 
evening, she took up her barley, 
and went home. She did not stay 
talking and idling, for she knew 
that her mother was alone, so she 
made haste to go to her. Then 


Naomi asked, “Where hast thou 
gleaned to-day?” and Ruth told 
her all about Boaz, and his kind¬ 
ness in letting her glean in his field. 
Naomi was much pleased to hear 
this; and she told Ruth, that Boaz 
was her relation, and that she felt 
sure he would be kind to them, and 
help them. 

All the harvest time, Ruth went 
every day to glean in the fields of 
Boaz, and came home every evening, 
with corn and food for Naomi. 
Were they happy? Yes, because 
they lived together in the love of 
God. They were poor, but they 
knew that God could keep them, 
and they trusted in Him. Riches 
cannot make us happy; but God’s 
blessing can make us happy without 
them. 

At last, harvest time was over, 
and what could Ruth do then? 
There was no more corn to glean, 
but God did not forget her. She 
had given herself up to Him, and 
He promises always to take care of 
His people. Naomi’s relation, Boaz, 
was very fond of Ruth. He loved 
her, because she loved God, and 
because she was industrious, and 
dutiful, and attentive to Naomi. 
Elimelech had had a possession in 
Canaan, and Boaz said, he would 
buy that possession, and marry 
Ruth according to a custom among 
the Israelites. So Boaz and Ruth 
married, and were happy together, 
because they both served God, and 
His blessing was upon them. They 
had a little son named Obed. Nao¬ 
mi loved this child, and she took 








136 


HANNAH’S PRAYER. 


him in her arms, and nursed him, 
and praised God who had made 
them all so happy, and given them 
so many blessings. 

Obed lived to grow up to he a 


man. He was the father of Jesse, 
and the grandfather of David king 
of Israel; and many kings de¬ 
scended from him. Thus God 
honored his faithful servants. 


XCH. 


^annah's 

HERE was a man named 
Elkanah, who lived at 
Mount Ephraim. He wor¬ 
shipped the true God, 
and every year went with 
his family to sacrifice to the Lord 
at Shiloh. Elkanah had a wife 
named Hannah, and she loved God 
too. Was Hannah happy? One 
thing made her sorry: she had no 
child, and she wished very much to 
have a son. 

One year, when Elkanah and his 
family went to Shiloh, Hannah felt 
very sad, and she determined to tell 
her sorrow to God. So when the 
sacrifice was ended at Shiloh, Han¬ 
nah went and prayed to the Lord. 
She cried very much when she 
prayed, and vowed a vow, and said, 
“ If thou, Lord, wilt give me a son, 
I will bring him up for thy service. 
He shall be a Nazarite to thee all 
his life.” Hannah was not alone 
when she prayed; the old priest 


j 3 P V A YEI^ 

was sitting by; his name was Eh. 
Eli looked at Hannah while she 
was praying, and he saw her lips 
moving, but he could not hear what 
she said, and he spoke unkindly to 
her, and asked her what she was 
doing. Hannah told the priest, 
that she was unhappy, and that she 
was telling God all her sorrows, and 
asking Him to comfort her. Eli 
was very glad to find that Hannah 
prayed with her heart, and not with 
her lips alone; and he blessed her, 
and asked God to hear her prayer. 
Then Hannah thanked Eli, and 
wiped away her tears, and went 
home with her husband. 

Hannah was now “ no more sad.” 
She had told God her sorrow, and 
asked Him to give her a child; and 
she waited for Him to do as He 
pleased. She knew that what God 
does is right and best; and she 
trusted all to Him, and was happy 









LITTLE SAMUEL. 


137 


XCIII. 


ITTLE 

E ID God hear Hannah’s pray¬ 
er ? Yes; and soon after 
He gave her a little son. 
She named him Samuel. 
And now Hannah remem¬ 
bered her vow to give her child to 
God. When he was old enough to 
go away from her she carried him 
to Shiloh, to the Lord’s house there. 
Then Hannah went to Eli, and gave 
the little boy to him, and said, “ I 
am the woman who prayed here 
some time ago. I asked God then 
to give me a son, and He has heard 
my prayer. Here is my child; I 
have lent him to the Lord: as long 
as he lives he shall be lent unto the 
Lord.” It was a happy day at Shi¬ 
loh, when Samuel was brought 
there. Elkanah rejoiced, and Han¬ 
nah, and Eli too, and they all 
worshipped God; and Hannah sang 
a beautiful song of praise. 

Hannah left her little boy at Shi¬ 
loh, and went home to Eamah with 
her husband. Was she sorry to 
leave Samuel? No, because she 
knew that God would bless her 
child, and that Eli would teach him 
what was right. Little Samuel was 
very obedient, and gentle, and kind, 
and affectionate to old Eli. Every 
year his mother came to Shiloh to 
sacrifice, and then she saw her little 
boy. She made him a little coat, 
and brought it to him when she 
came to Shiloh. Eli and Hannah 
taught Samuel what was right, and 
they prayed God to bless him, and 
God heard their prayer. Parents 


AMUEL, 

and teachers cannot give children 
new hearts; but God promises to 
hear the prayers they offer for them 
in faith. 

Samuel grew, and God loved him, 
and all his friends loved him too- 
Eli had two sons; they were not 
little boys, like Samuel, but grown 
up; and they were priests in the 
house of the Lord at Shiloh. God’s 
priests ought to be very good and 
holy men: but Hophni and Phine- 
has, Eli’s sons, were very wicked 
men; they did not love nor obey 
God. Their father Eli knew that 
they were wicked, and he called 
them, and said, “ My sons, I hear no 
good report of you. You sin against 
the Lord, and teach his people to 
do wrong. Why will you do such 
things?” But Hophni and Phine- 
has would not attend to their father; 
but became more and more wicked. 
Eli was very unhappy when he saw 
his sons so self-willed and disobe¬ 
dient. But was he right to let his 
wicked sons stay and be priests at 
Shiloh ? No, Eli did very wrong; 
he ought to have punished them 
and sent them away, and not let 
them be priests; but Eli foolishly 
indulged his children, and did not 
like to punish them. 

Then God said, He would punish 
Eli, and slay Hophni and Phinehas 
in one day. Eli was a good man, 
but God punished him because he 
let his sons go on in wickedness, 
and honored them more than he 
honored God, 







138 


SAMUEL CALLED. 


XCIV. 


A M U E L 

AMUEL was still living 
with Eli; and he was 
kind and obedient, when 
Eli’s own sons were re¬ 
bellious and self-willed. 
Samuel did not know much about 
God, but he wished to know more, 
and he was glad and attentive when 
Eli told him about holy things. 

One night, when Samuel was 
in bed, he heard a voice calling, 
“ Samuel, Samuel.” It was God who 
called; but Samuel did not know 
this, because God had never called 
him before. So Samuel arose direct¬ 
ly, and ran to Eli, and said, “ Here 
I am, for thou calledst me.” But 
Eli answered, “ No, my son, I called 
not; lie down again.” Then Sam¬ 
uel went again and lay down; but 
soon the voice called the second 
time, “Samuel.” Samuel still 
thought it was Eli’s voice, and he 
went again to the old priest, and 
said, “ Here I am.” But Eli said, 
“ My dear child, I did not call; go 
and lie down again.” Samuel 
obeyed; he wondered who had call¬ 
ed him: but he did not ask ques¬ 
tions; he did what Eli told him, 
and lay down quietly in his bed. 
Did God call again? Yes; the 
third time, He said, “ Samuel, Sam¬ 
uel.” Was not Samuel tired of 
running to Eli? No, he went 
again to him directly; he was not 


ALLED. 

impatient because he was called so 
often. 

When Eli saw Samuel running to 
him again, he began to think it was 
God who had called the child. So 
he said, “ Go, and lie down; and, if 
He call again, thou shalt say, Speak, 
Lord, for thy servant heareth.” So 
Samuel went back, and lay down; 
wondering why the holy God should 
speak to him, a poor sinful boy. 
Did the voice call again ? Yes, the 
Lord called the fourth time, “ Sam¬ 
uel, Samuel.” Then the boy arose, 
and looked up humbly to Heaven, 
and said, “Speak, for thy servant 
heareth.” 

It is very pleasant when children 
early learn to serve and love God, 
like Samuel. God calls children 
now. How? Does He speak to 
them with a loud voice, and call 
them by their names ? No; they 
cannot hear His voice ; but He 
speaks to them in His word , in the 
Bible. What does He say? He 
says, “ My son, give me thine heart.” 
Prov. xxiii. 26. “I love them that 
love me, and they that seek me 
early shall find me.” Prov. viii. 17. 
“ Seek ye my face.” Ps. xxvii. 8. 
Do you wish to have God for your 
friend and saviour? Then you 
must, like Samuel, attend to Him, 
and obey Him, and say, “ Thy face, 
Lord, will I seek." 





ELI SENDETH OUT SAMUEL, i Samuel iii. 








ELI’S SONS. 


139 


XCY. 


F 


L I 


S 




O N S. 



HAT did God say, when 
He called Samuel the 
fourth time? God had 
something very sad to tell 
Samuel. He said He was 
going soon to do a fearful thing in 
Israelto punish Eli and his family, 
because his sons were wicked, and 
he restrained them not. 

When it was light, Samuel arose. 
He was notan idle boy; he had work 
to do, and he always did it in good 
time: it was his business, in the 
morning, to open the doors of the 
Lord’s house. He was very sorry to 
make Eli unhappy; and he did not 
tell him what God had said for a 
long time. But the old priest saw 
Samuel looking very sad; and he 
called him, and said, “My son, 
what did God tell thee last night ? 
Do not fear to speak; I wish to know 
the truth ; tell me all.” Then Samuel 
remembered that it is very wrong to 


say what is untrue; so he told Eli 
all that God had said. Samuel was 
sorry to make his dear, kind friend 
unhappy; but he knew that it was 


right to tell the truth. He spoke 
very humbly, and kindly, and re¬ 
spectfully, because he remembered 
that Eli was an old man, and it is 
right for children to be kind and re¬ 
spectful to old people. 

Eli knew that God had spoken, 
and he felt that all was right. Every¬ 
thing God does must be right, be¬ 
cause He is so wise, and good, and 
holy. Then Eli said, “It is the 
Lord: let Him do what seemeth Him 
good.” Eli did well to submit; if 
God punishes us, we ought to be 
humble and patient; but when Eli 
thought about his sin, he felt un- 
happy. What was his sin ? His 
sons were wicked, and he did not 
restrain them. The Bible tells 
parents to teach children what is 
right, and to punish them when they 
do wrong. Kind parents always 
reprove their children when they 
are self-willed and rebellious; and 
the children ought to be thankful to 
their parents, and teachers, and 
friends, who try to bring them up 
aright. 





140 


ELI'S DEATH. 


XCVI. 




Li’s 


P E AT H. 


AMIJEL grew, and every 
day he learnt more and 
more about God. He 
was God’s child, and God 
kept him, and made him 
wise in holy things. It is very 
pleasant when children grow older, 
and better too: but some grow 
worse, and not better. Eli’s sons 
grew worse, more and more wicked 
every day. God did not bless Israel 
now; they were wicked, and the 
priests were wicked, and God was 
going to punish them all. 

The Philistines came to fight 
against Israel, and there was a great 
battle. Who conquered ? Not the 
Israelites, because God did not fight 
foi them, and without Him they had 
no power to conquer their enemies. 
The Philistines gained the victory; 
and 4,000 of the Israelites were 
killed. Then the people of Israel 
said, “ Why does God let the Philis¬ 
tines conquer us ? We will bring 
the ark from Shiloh, and take it to 
the camp; perhaps the ark will save 
us from our enemies.” So they sent 
to Shiloh, and took away the ark, 
and brought it to the camp, and 
Hophni and Phinehas, Eli’s two 
sons, came with it. The army of 
the Israelites shouted very loud when 
they saw the ark, for they thought 
they were now sure of the victory ; 
but God could not bless wicked 
priests and disobedient people; He 
turned away, and would not help 
them. 

When the Philistines saw the 
ark, they were frightened; for they 
thought it was the Israelites’ god, an 


idol-god, like Dagon, or Baal, and 
they told their soldiers to be very 
brave, and to fight against them 
with all their strength. Then the 
battle began; and the Israelites were 
beaten, and ran to their tents; and 
30,000 were killed. Where were 
Hophni and Phinehas ? Their dead 
bodies were found on the field; their 
souls were gone to appear before 
God, and to be judged for all their 
sins! And the holy ark was gone 
from Israel too; the Philistines took 
it away, and carried it to their own 
country; God showed His sinful 
people that he was not with them 
now. 

Eli did not see the battle; he was 
too old to go so far; but he felt very 
unhappy, because he knew how 
angry God was, and he though'’ 
much about his wicked sons. Hs 
went to the gate of the city, and sat 
down there. All the people of 
Shiloh were unhappy too, and they 
waited trembling till the news came 
about the battle. At last, a msm 
came running very fast from the 
army; and when the people looked 
at him, they saw that his clothes 
were rent, and dust was upon his 
head, and they knew that he brought 
very sad news. When the man told 
them that the battle was lost, all the 
people cried out; the cry was very 
loud, and very bitter, and Eli heard 
it. He could not see, for his eyes 
were dim with old age, he was ninety- 
eight years old, but he heard the 
noise, and he called the messenger, 
and asked, “What is the noise I 
hear? Why do the people cry?” 





DAGON AND THE ARK. 


141 


The messenger said, “ I have just 
run from the army.” Then Eli 
trembled very much, and asked, 
“What is done there? tell me.” 
The man said, “ The Israelites are 
conquered, Hophni and Phinehas 
are slain, and the ark of God is 
taken away.” Eli heard it all; but 
when the messenger said that the 


ark was gone, he could bear no more; 
he did not look up, nor speak again; 
he fell back off his seat, and his neck 
broke, and he died. He could not 
bear so much sorrow. He had lost 
all his comforts; God’s anger was 
upon the country; and the ark and 
the blessing of God were taken 
away. 


OOOo 


XCVII. 


PAGON AND 

HE Philistines took away 
the ark from Ebenezer, 
where the battle was 
fought, and carried it to 
Ashdod, and put it in 
the temple of their idol Dagon. The 
Philistines thought that the ark was 
an idol like Dagon; but God soon 
showed them that it was very dif¬ 
ferent. 

When the Philistines came into 
the temple on the morrow morning, 
they saw Dagon fallen down before 
the ark; and they took him, and 
put him up again. But the next 
day, they found Dagon fallen down 
again, and his hands and his head 
broken to pieces. Who had done 
this? God did it to show the 
Philistines how powerful He was, 
and that their idol god could not 
stand before His holy ark. God 
punished the people too of Ashdod 
with a dreadful plague; and they 
were very much frightened, and said, 
the ark should not stay with them 
any longer, because it hurt them 
and their god Dagon. 

Many people say in their hearts, 

“ We do not want God: we do not 
like to pray, and to think of Him, 

10 


THE JK. F^K. 

and to serve Him; we like our 
pleasures best, we like the world 
best.” These people are like the 
Philistines, who sent away the holy 
ark, because they liked to serve 
Dagon better than the true God. 

Where did the ark go? The 
Philistines sent it to Gath; but 
there God punished the people with 
the plague, and then they sent the 
ark to Ekron. When the people of 
Ekron saw it coming, they were 
frightened, and cried, “Take the 
ark away; we fear a plague will 
come with it; send it back to its 
own country.” The ark was seven 
months in the Philistines’ country, 
and many people died of the plague 
which God sent. 

At last, the Philistines said, they 
would send the ark home: for they 
saw that the God of Israel was 
stronger than they, and they could 
not resist His power. So they made 
a new cart, and put the ark into it; 
two kine drew the cart. They took 
the right road to go to the land of 
Israel; they did not stand still; they 
went straight on, without turning to 
right or left. 









142 


THE ARK. 


XCYIII. 


Jhe 

HE kine drew the ark in 
the cart to Bethshemesh. 
The people there were 
very busy reaping: for it 
was harvest time. They 
heard something coming, and looked 
up, to see what it was. What did 
they see ? The cart drawn by the 
kine, without a driver, coming to 
them along the road; and when 
they looked into the cart, there they 
saw the holy ark of God, which 
they had lost so long. Then the 
people in Bethshemesh rejoiced very 
much. The cart came close to 
them, and the kine stood still; and 
the Levites took out the ark, and 
put it upon a large stone. Then 
they cut up the cart for wood, and 
offered the kine in joyful sacrifice to 
God who had sent them His holy 
ark again. The lords of the Philis¬ 
tines, who followed the cart, saw all 
this, and wondered, and returned to 
their own country. 

But a sad thing happened to 
Bethshemesh that day. The people 
were very pleased to have the ark 
again; but some of them forgot 
what a holy thing it was, and they 
went to it, and looked into it, very 
irreverently, without remembering 
that God had commanded them to 
honor it, and only allowed the Le¬ 
vites to touch it. The men of Beth¬ 
shemesh made God angry; and He 
smote them; and 50,070 people 
died. 

The people were very much 
frightened when they saw so many 


J>L R K. 

of their friends dead, and said, 
“Who can stand before this holy 
Lord God?” Then they sent to 
Kirjath-jearim, and asked the people 
there to come and take the ark 
away. The men of Kirjath-jearim 
were glad to have it; and they 
brought it to the house of a man 
named Abinadab, and he conse¬ 
crated his son to keep it; and it 
stayed there many years. 

The Israelites now began to be 
sorry for their sins, and they cried 
to the Lord. God had punished 
them very much, and taken away 
the ark from them; but now they 
wanted to have God’s blessing again, 
because they felt they could not be 
happy without it. 

None can be happy without God’s 
love and blessing. We have not 
the ark now to be with us, as it 
used to be with Israel, and we do 
not want it. We have Jesus Christ, 
and He is always with us, to bless 
us, if we are His people. 

When the Israelites began to cry 
about their sins, they had a kind 
friend to teach them what to do. 
Who was that friend ? Samuel; he 
was now a man, and God’s love and 
blessing were still upon him. God 
taught him to speak to His people 
Israel. Samuel said, “ Ho you wish 
to serve God in truth, and to have 
His blessing again ? If you do, you 
must put away your idols, and turn 
to God, and serve Him alone.” 
Then the Israelites attended to 
k Samuel, and put away their idols, 






BBEH-EZEE. 


143 


and began to serve the Lord. 
Samuel called them to Mizpeh, and 
there he prayed for them: and they 


prayed too, and asked for forgive¬ 
ness, and cried, “We have sinned 
against the Lord.” 


<xx> 


XCIX. 




BEN-EZER. 



HEX the Philistines heard 
that the Israelites were 
gathered together at Miz¬ 
peh, they went there to 
fight against them. The 
Israelites were very much fright¬ 
ened when they heard that their 
enemies were coming, and they 
went for help to their kind friend 
Samuel. But the Israelites knew 
that Samuel himself had not power 
to save them: God alone could de¬ 
liver them; so they said to Samuel, 
“Pray for us to God, ask him to 
save us from the Philistines.” Then 
Samuel took a lamb, and offered it 
up in faith, as a sacrifice to God, 
and prayed unto the Lord; and 
the Lord heard him. But did the 
Philistines come to Mizpeh ? Yes; 
while Samuel was offering the sacri¬ 
fice, he looked up and saw the 
enemies coming nearer and nearer, 
and making ready for battle. Was 
he frightened ? No, because he 
trusted in God; he knew God had 


power to deliver His people; and 
when he remembered that, Samuel 
could not fear. The Israelites did 
not fight the Philistines, but God 
Himself fought, and conquered 
them. How? Not with swords, 
nor spears, nor arrows: He sent a 


great thunderstorm, and frightened 
the Philistines, and they fled; and 
the Israelites followed, and killed 
them in great numbers. 

When the Philistines were con¬ 
quered, Samuel took a great stone, 
and set it up near Mizpeh. Why ? 
Because he wished all Israel to re¬ 
member God's kindness to them in 
saving them from their enemies. 
When, in future years, the Israelites 
should look upon that stone, they 
would think, “ Here God was merci¬ 
ful to us, and delivered us from 
our cruel enemies, the Philistines.” 
Samuel gave the stone a name ; he 
called it Eben-ezer, which means, 
“ the stone of help.” Why did Sa¬ 
muel call the stone, a stone of help ? 
“ Because,” he said, “ hitherto hath 
the Lord helped us.” The Philis¬ 
tines were all gone; they did not 
again come to trouble and frighten 
the Israelites; and Samuel and the 
people were right to thank and 
praise God for all His mercies. 

Let us remember that God is our 
help. He has taken care of us in 
past years; and we must ask Him 
to take care of us in all our future 
years too, and to bring us safely at 
last to Heaven, 









144 


THE NEW KING. 


c. 


^ H E J\f E W J^ING. 


ANY years Samuel judged 
the people of Israel: and 
when they hearkened to 
him, and obeyed him, 
they were safe and happy, 
because lie ruled over them rightly, 
and taught them to fear and love 
the Lord. But at last, Samuel grew 
an old man, and then his sons helped 
him to judge Israel. Samuel’s sons 
were not like their good father. 
They loved money, and the things 
of the world, better than they loved 
God. 

The Israelites said to Samuel, 
“ Thou art old, and thy sons, who 
judge us now, are not like thee: 
give us a king to rule over us.” 
Samuel was displeased when the Is¬ 
raelites said this; but he made no 
answer; he went first to ask God 
what was right. God was very angry 
with the people of Israel. He was 
their king; He gave them laws, and 
fought their battles, and took care of 
them and of their country; He was 
their best Friend and ruler; and 
they were ungrateful and rebellious, 
and foolish, too, to wish for a new 
king. 

Samuel went again to the people, 
uni told them what God had spoken. 


Samuel told them they had made 
God angry; for he was their king, 
and they ought not to desire another; 
and a new king would not make 
them happy; he might be ambU 
tious, and selfish, and cruel, and 
then they would cry for deliverance, 
when it would be too late. But the 
people did not care for what Samuel 
said, and for the kind warning he 
gave them; they cried out again, 
“Wewill have a king, we want to 
be like other nations; we want to 
fight battles, and to have a king to 
go with us.” Then Samuel went 
again to God, and told him what 
the people said. And did God let 
them have their wish? Yes, He 
told Samuel to let the people have a 
king. But God was not pleased. 
He let His people have their own 
way; but He was punishing them, 
not blessing them. 

We are weak and foolish, and we 
know not what is right or best for 
us. But God knows, and we ought 
to submit in all things to His will. 
When he takes away, or does not 
give us what we ask him for, we 
may be sure that it is best for us not 
to have it; and we ought to be pa¬ 
tient, and submit quietly. 






SAUL. 


14 £ 


CI. 

AUL. 


S was a man of 
tribe of Benjamin, 
jd Kish, and he had 
1 called Saul. Saul 
was a very fine young 
man, and very tall; he was taller 
than any of the people. One day, 
some of the asses of Kish went 
astray, and were lost. Kish called 
his son Saul, and said, “ Take a ser¬ 
vant with thee, and go, seek the 
asses.” Then Saul and his servant 
got ready, and went. They went a 
long way, but they could not see the 
asses; and Saul grew tired, and said 
to the servant, “Come, let us go 
home, for we cannot find the asses, 
and my father will begin to be 
frightened about us. The servant 
answered, “There is a good man 
living near who is a prophet, and a 
very wise man ; shall we go to him 
first, and ask him our best way, and 
where we may find the asses ? ” Saul 
said, “ Yes, let us go;” so they both 
went to the city where the prophet 
lived. This prophet was Samuel; 
he lived at Ramah, in Benjamin, 
where Saul and his servant were 
travelling. 

When they came near the city, 
they met some young women going 
to draw water, and they asked, “ Is 
the prophet here?” The young 
woman said, “ Yes, he came to-day 
to a sacrifice in the city; he blesses 
the sacrifice before the people eat, 
and he is now going to the high 
place; make haste, and you will find 


him.” Saul and the servant went 
on, and soon came to the gate of 
the city, and there they saw an old 
man, and they went to him, and 
Saul asked, “ Where is the prophet’s 
house ?” The old man said, “ I am 
the prophet; my name is Samuel; 
come with me, and eat with me 
to-day, and to-morrow thou shalt 
go. Do not grieve about the asses, 
for they are found. I have much 
to tell thee; the desire of all Israel 
is on thee, and on thy father’s 
house.” Then Saul wondered and 
said, “Why dost thou speak so to 
me ? My family is the least in the 
tribe of Benjamin.” 

Why did Samuel honor Saul so 
much? Because God had said to 
Samuel, “ That is the man who 
shall reign over my people.” Sam¬ 
uel honored Saul as his king; for 
though the Israelites did wrong 
in asking for a king, yet they were 
to love and respect him when God 
gave them their wish. 

Samuel brought Saul and his ser¬ 
vant into his house, and made them 
sit down to a great feast in his par¬ 
lor : and Samuel told the cook to 
bring the best of the meat, and put 
it before Saul. Then Samuel said, 
“This is for thee; I kept it for thee, 
unto this time.” When the feast 
was ended, Samuel called to Saul 
upon the top of the house. He 
said that the people wanted a king, 
and that God had chosen Saul to be 
the king. 







146 


SAUL MADE KIMG. 


on. 


p 


A U L 


MADE 


JC I N G. 



HE next morning, very 
early, Saul and his ser¬ 
vant arose to go home, 
and Samuel' went with 
them to the end of the 
city. Then Samuel told the ser¬ 
vant to go on before, because he 
had a secret thing to say to Saul. 
When the servant was gone, and 
Samuel and Saul were alone, Samuel 
took a bottle of oil, and poured the 
oil upon Saul’s head. Then he kissed 
Saul, and said, “God has chosen 
thee to be king, to rule over His 
people Israel; ” and Samuel told 
Saul that he would soon meet a 
company of prophets, and that God 
would give him power to prophesy 
too. Then Samuel and Saul parted; 
Samuel went home, and Saul went 
on his way. 

And now God gave great power 
and wisdom to Saul; he felt like a 
new man. Very soon he met the 
prophets, as Samuel had said, and 
Saul went among them, and began 
to prophesy too. Who taught Saul 
to prophesy? God; He gave him 
wisdom and knowledge, to help and 
strengthen him in the new work 
given him. All the people wondered 
very much to hear Saul prophesy, 
and they said, “ What is this ? Is 
Saul also among the prophets ? ” 
Saul met his uncle soon after, 
and the uncle asked him and his 
servant, “Where have you been?” 
Saul said, “We went to seek my 
father’s asses, which were lost. And 
when we could not find them, we 
went to the prophet Samuel, and he 


told us that they were found." 
Saul did not tell his uncle what 
Samuel had said about the king¬ 
dom; he was right not to boast 
of his new honors. 

Samuel now called all the people 
together to Mizpeh. He said to 
them, “You wish very much to 
have a king; God is not pleased 
with your wish; because he was 
your king, your best friend, and 
you are ungrateful and rebellious to 
ask for another. But God will let 
you have your wish; call now all 
your tribes before the Lord, and He 
will choose a king for you.” 

Then Samuel called the tribes 
one after another, aud the tribe of 
Benjamin was chosen; then he 
called all the families of Benjamin, 
and the family of Kish was chosen; 
and Saul was chosen out of that 
family, to be king of Israel. Then 
the people said, “ Where is Saul ? ” 
He is our king, bring him here.” 
So they sought him, but could not 
find him for a long time. Then the 
people asked God again, to tell them 
if Saul was the right man, and God 
said “ Yes,” and He told them that 
Saul had hid himself; so they 
looked in the place which God 
pointed out, and there they found 
Saul; and they brought him to the 
people. He was taller than any 
of them, and they all admired him 
very much. Then Samuel said, 
“Do you see the king whom God 
has chosen ?” All the people shouted 
for joy, and said, “ God save the 
king.” 









SAMUEL'S WARNING. 


147 


cm. 


jS A 


MUEL S 




RNING. 



^"lETER Saul was made 
king, Samuel again called 
the people together. He 
was now a very old man, 
and soon he must die, 
and leave them; but they had a 
young king to rule over them when 
he was gone, and Samuel wanted to 
talk to them, and to warn them, 
and to teach them what they must 
do to be happy with their new king. 

Samuel said, “I am now an old 
man; my hair is white with age; I 
have been with you all my life, from 
the time when I was a child till now. 
Tell me if I have oppressed you, or 
if I have taken anything away from 
you, and I will restore it.” Then 
the people cried “No;” for they all 
loved Samuel, and knew that he 
had always been their friend. 

Then Samuel said again, “Wait, 
and hear what I wish to say to you. 


Many years ago, God brought your 
fathers out of Egypt, and Moses and 
Aaron with them, and gave them 
this land for a possession. Very 
often your fathers rebelled against 
God, and then he punished them, 
and sent enemies to fight and con¬ 
quer them. He sent Sisera, and the 
Philistines, and the Moabites, and 
many more enemies to fight against 
them. But when your fathers re¬ 
pented, and turned to God, and 
gave up their idols, then the Lord 
had mercy, and saved them. He 
sent many good and faithful cap¬ 
tains, to conquer their enemies. 
Gideon, and Jephthah, and Samson, 


and many more. Now you have 
asked for a king, because you were 
tired of God ruling over you; and 
He has given you Saul, and you are 
pleased and happy. If you and your 
king obey and serve the Lord, then 
God’s blessing will be upon you, 
and you will have the Lord for your 
friend. But if you are disobedient, 
and rebel, then God will he your 
enemy, and punish you as He pun¬ 
ished your fathers. And now, God 
is going to do a great thing, that 
you may know how much you have 
sinned against Him in asking for a 
king.” 

What was this great thing? It 
was harvest time, when it very sel¬ 
dom rains, or thunders, or lightens 
in Judea; but Samuel asked God 
to send a storm, to show His great 
power to the people, and to teach 
them how angry He was 

God heard Samuel’s ] rayer, and 
sent a fearful storm of tk ander, and 
lightning, and rain; and all the pc o- 
ple were very much afraid. Tht n 
they cried aloud, and asked Samuel 
to pray to God for them, and con¬ 
fessed their sins, and asked forgive¬ 
ness for having wishedfor a new king, 
when God Himself was their king. 

Samuel was sorry to see the peo¬ 
ple unhappy, and he comforted 
them, and spoke kindly to them. 
He said, “Yes, I will pray for 
you, and I will teach you to do 
what is right. But remember al¬ 
ways to fear the Lord, and to love 
and obey Him. Think how kind 






148 


SAUL'S DISOBEDIENCE. 


He has been to yon in past times, 
and how merciful He is to you now. 
If you cleave to Him with all your 
heart, He will never, never forsake 


you; but if you do wickedly, He will 
destroy both you and your king.” 
Then Samuel ended what he had to 
say, and the people went home. 


CIV. 


aul's pis 

ATJL began his reign well, 
but very soon he became 
tired of doing right. His 
heart had not been made 
new by the Holy Spirit; 
so he did not wish to please God, 
nor care for holy things, nor pray 
for help to rule his people rightly. 

One year passed away. The Phil¬ 
istines were very busy making ready 
to fight against Israel again; but 
Saul did not try to prevent them. 
At last, the Philistines came to¬ 
gether in great numbers, and then 
Saul and the Israelites began to be 
very much frightened. Saul went 
to Gilgal, and he told all the people 
to follow him there, and they came 
trembling for fear. 

Was Samuel with them? Ho, he 
did not go to Gilgal directly; but 
he told Saul to wait there seven 
days, and then he promised to come 
and offer the sacrifice, and pray for 
God’s blessing. Saul and the peo¬ 
ple waited till the seventh day; then 
they looked for Samuel, but they 
did not see him coming. At last, 
Saul became very impatient, and he 
would not wait any longer. He 
commanded the people to bring the 
offering, and he sacrificed it himself, 
without waiting for Samuel. 

Was this right? Ho; Saul was 
not a priest, nor a prophet; he had 
no right to offer sacrifices, and he 


O BEDI ENCE. 

disobeyed the command of God and 
of Samuel in doing this. Samuel 
had not forgotten his promise; Saul 
had just finished offering the sacri¬ 
fice, when he looked up, and saw 
Samuel coming. Then Saul ran to 
meet Samuel; for he was not sorry 
nor ashamed of the wicked thing he 
had done. But Samuel said to the 
kii:g, “What hast thou done?” 
Saul answered, “I saw the Philis¬ 
tines coming, and thou wast not 
here, and therefore I offered the 
sacrifice myself.” But Samuel said, 
“ Thou hast done foolishly and 
wickedly. Thou hast disobeyed the 
command of God. He will soon 
take away the kingdom from thee, 
and give it to a better man. God is 
not thy Friend now, because thou 
hast disobeyed and rebelled against 
Him.” Then Samuel arose and 
went away. He could not stay with 
wicked, disobedient Saul, because 
he knew that Saul had no love to 
God, and no wish to please Him. 
Saul did not care for God’s blessing; 
pride, and impatience, and rebellion 
made him offer the sacrifice; not 
faith, and love, and obedience to 
God. 

When Samuel was gone, Saul 
counted his soldiers, and made them 
ready for the battle. But God was 
not with Saul, to help him now. 

Saul had a son very unlike him- 








SAUL’S DISOBEDIENCE. 


149 


himself; a son who loved and feared 
God. His name was Jonathan. 
When Jonathan saw the Philistines 
all waiting in their tents in great 
numbers, he called the man who 
carried his armor, and said, “ Let us 
go up to the Philistines, and fight 
them. They are more and stronger 
than we; but if we trust in God, 
He can help us to conquer them : 
He can save by many or by few.” 
Jonathan’s armor-bearer was willing 
to go; they both went boldly, and 
showed themselves to the Philis¬ 
tines. When their enemies saw 
them, they called to them to come 
up, for the Philistines did not fear 
Jonathan and his man; they only 
laughed at them. The way up to 
the Philistines’ camp was very steep, 
through sharp rocks. But Jonathan 
was not afraid. He called to his 
armor-bearer, and said, “ Come up 
after me; for the Lord hath deliv¬ 
ered them into our hands.” Then 
they both began to climb up the 
rocks on their hands and knees, 
because the way was so rough and 
steep. But God helped them, as 
Jonathan had said: and brought 
them in safety to the top of the rock. 

When Jonathan and his armor- 
bearer were at the top of the rock, 
they began to fight with their ene¬ 
mies, and God gave them power to 
conquer, and they killed twenty men 
of the Philistines. God made all 
the Philistines tremble with fear, 
and the ground shook too; but He 
gave strength to Israel, and they 
gained the victory that day. Saul 
did not see Jonathan and his armor- 
bearer when they went to the 
Philistines’ camp on the rock; and 
he wondered very much when he 
heard the noise. He looked round, 


and counted his luen, to see who 
had gone away; and soon he found 
that Jonathan and his armor- 
bearer were not there. Then Saul 
and all his soldiers went to the bat¬ 
tle, and fought and conquered the 
Philistines. It was God who saved 
the Israelites, not their own power. 
God made the Philistines fall one 
upon another, for fear made them 
like wild, mad men. 

The Israelites were very weak and 
tired that day, for Saul had com¬ 
manded them not to eat any food 
till all their enemies were conquered. 
But Jonathan did not hear his 
father’s command. At last the 
Israelites came to a wood; the 
ground there was covered with 
honey, made by the bees that had 
their nests among the trees; the 
people looked at the honey, and 
wanted to eat it; but they were 
afraid of disobeying the king. 
They were very hungry, but they 
would not taste the honey. But as 
Jonathan had not heard the com¬ 
mand, he took some honey, and ate, 
and soon he felt better and stronger. 
Then the people told Jonathan what 
Saul had said. 

When the battle was ended, and 
the people might eat, they all ran 
greedily and killed oxen, and sheep, 
and lambs, and began to eat without 
waiting till the meat was prepared. 
Then Saul was angry with them, 
and said, “ Why do you sin against 
God, and eat the blood of the 
animals ?” But Saul forgot that it 
was his own foolish and cruel 
command which made the people 
do so. Then Saul built an altar to 
the Lord, in remembrance of the 
victory. It was right to thank God, 
and pray to Him; but Saul’s heart 



150 


THE AMALEKITES. 


was not right. God knew that Saul 
did not really love Him, but only 
pretended to honor Him. God 
would not be pleased with Saul’s 
altars, and sacrifices, and prayers, 
if wickedness was in Saul’s heart. 
God knows all our thoughts; He 
knows when we are sincere, and 
when we are not sincere; and He 
will not bless hypocrites. 

Saul said, “ Let us now go again 
in the night, and kill more of the 
Philistines. We will not let one 
escape.” But the priest said, “ Let 
us ask God’s blessing before we go.” 
Saul then asked God, “ Shall I go to 
fight the Philistines ? Wilt thou 
help me to conquer them ?” But 
God gave no answer. Then Saul 
called all the people, and said, 
“ Come now, and we will ask* God 
to tell us who has sinned, and why 
He will not answer our prayers.” 
So they cast lots, and God made the 
lot fall on Jonathan. Saul did not 


know that Jonathan had eaten the 
honey, for the people had not told 
him. Then Saul called Jonathan, 
and said, “ Tell me what thou hast 
done ?” Jonathan knew that his 
father was angry; but he did not 
try to deny; he was not afraid to 
confess the truth. He said directly, 
“ I tasted a little honey in the wood; 
I did not hear thy command; and 
must I die ?” Then Saul said, 
“ Thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.” 
But the people hid Jonathan, and 
would not let Saul hurt him. Then 
the Philistines went back to their 
own country, and Saul fought 
against his other enemies, the 
Moabites, and Amalekites, and Am¬ 
monites, and conquered them. But 
after all his victories, Saul could not 
be happy. God was not with him; 
and riches, and possessions, and vic¬ 
tories cannot make us happy without 
God’s love and blessing. 


■COCO 


CY. 


T 


H E 


/ 


MALEKITES, 


OD now sent a new com¬ 
mand to Saul. There 
were some wicked people 
living near, the Amale¬ 
kites ; and God told Sam¬ 
uel to command Saul to go and de¬ 
stroy them. Men, and women, and 
children, and oxen, and sheep, all 
must die. This was a sad command, 
but it must be obeyed. God had 
waited many long years, to see if the 
Amalekites would repent, and turn 
to Him. But these wicked people 
loved their sins and their idols, and 
they would not give them up. And 


now God would wait no longer, and 
He said, that all the Amalekites 
should be destroyed. God in mercy 
gives sinners time to repent; but if 
they will not attend, nor pray for 
forgiveness, they will be destroyed, 
and perish for ever. 

Saul called his soldiers, and they 
went to fight against Amalek. God 
helped Israel to conquer their ene¬ 
mies; all the people of Amalek were 
killed, and the king was taken 
prisoner. Did Saul do as God told 
him ? No; for he did not kill Agag 
the king, and he chose the best of 








THE AMALEKITES. 


151 


the sheep and oxen, and put them 
away, and did not kill them; but all 
that was bad he destroyed. Was 
this right ? No, it was disobedience 
to God’s command. Saul thought 
his own way better than God’s way; 
he was self-willed and rebellious. 
God was much displeased with Saul, 
and He sent Samuel to him with a 
very fearful message. In the morn¬ 
ing, Samuel rose early, and went to 
Saul to Gilgal. Saul was not sorry, 
nor ashamed of what he had done ; 
he boldly dared to say, “ I have 
performed God’s command.” But 
Samuel said, “ What is this noise of 
sheep and oxen which I hear?” 
Then Saul answered, “The people 
saved them to sacrifice to God: all 
the rest we have killed.” Samuel 
said, “ Hear now what God has told 
me. He commanded thee to go and 
kill all the Amalekites; He told 
thee to destroy everything; why 
didst thou not obey the voice of the 
Lord ?” Then Saul again said, “ I 
have obeyed God; I have taken 
Agag prisoner; he is here; and the 
people took the animals for sacrifice.” 
Samuel answered, “God does not 
want sacrifices without obedience. 
God likes humility, and love, and 
gentleness; obedience pleases Him 
more than any sacrifice. Rebellion 
makes him angry, and thou hast 
rebelled; and therefore God has now 


turned away from thee, and will not 
let thee be king over His people 
Israel.” Then Saul began to be 
frightened, and he said, “Yes, I 
have sinned; but now forgive me, 
and let me worship God.” But 
Samuel knew that Saul was not 
truly sorry; and he turned to go 
away. Then Saul took hold of 
Samuel’s garment, that Samuel 
might not go, and the garment rent. 
Samuel turned round again, and 
said, “God has rent the kingdom 
from thee to-day; and soon He will 
give it to a better man than thou.” 
Then Saul cried, “I have sinned; 
but honor me now before the peo¬ 
ple, and let us worship God to¬ 
gether.” 

Samuel did what Saul wished; he 
turned again, and Saul worshipped 
the Lord. But did God attend to 
Saul’s worship ? No, God will not 
accept the prayers of proud rebel¬ 
lious people; He turns away and will 
not look upon them. Then Samuel 
commanded king Agag to be brought 
to him. Agag thought he was safe; 
but no, God said he must die. He 
had been a wicked and cruel king, 
he had murdered many people; and 
now God punished him. Samuel 
killed him in Gilgal, in obedience to 
God’s command. Then Samuel re¬ 
turned to Ramah, and Saul went 
home to his house in Gibeah. 



152 


JESSE’S SONS. 


Jesse’s 

AMUEL never came to 
Saul again; he could not 
bear to see that wicked 
king; for Saul was grow¬ 
ing more and more rebel¬ 
lious against God. Samuel remem¬ 
bered the day when he first saw 
Saul at Ramah; when he talked so 
kindly to him, and anointed him 
king, and kissed, and blessed him. 
Then Saul was humble, and gentle, 
and obedient; and Samuel hoped 
he loved God, and wished to serve 
Him. But now Saul was proud, 
and rebellious, and disobedient. He 
had forsaken God, and God had 
forsaken him. Samuel was very 
unhappy when he thought about 
this. How sad it is to begin 
rightly like Saul, and soon to grow 
weary of well doing, and forget God, 
and love the world, and Satan, and 
sin, better than holy things! If we 
grow tired of God, God will depart 
from us. If we leave off praying, 
God will not give us His grace; and 
then we shall grow worse and worse, 
and at last die without hope, and 
without forgiveness. 

One day, when Samuel was 
mourning for Saul, God spoke to 
him, and said, “ Ho not mourn any 
longer for Saul. I will not have 
him for king, because he has for¬ 
saken me. Take a horn of oil, 
and go to the house of Jesse, in 
Bethlehem. I have chosen a king 
among his sons.” Then Samuel 
obeyed God, and went to Bethle¬ 
hem, and made a sacrifice there, as 
God told him, and he called Jesse 
and his sons to the sacrifice. Jesse 


CYI. 

O N S . 

had eight sons. Seven of them 
were at home, but the youngest was 
in the fields keeping sheep. When 
Samuel saw Eliab, Jesse’s eldest son, 
he was very much pleased with 
him; and thought he must be the 
new king God had chosen. But God 
did not look at the face, He looked 
at the heart; He wanted a king who 
would love and serve him, not a 
king who was tall and handsome. 
He said, “I have not chosen this 
man.” Samuel looked at the six 
other sons also, but God had chosen 
none of them. Then Samuel said 
to Jesse, “ Where is thy youngest 
son ? Call him, for we must have 
him here.” 

Then Jesse sent out to the field, 
and brought in his youngest son. His 
name was David. David was young; 
he too was beautiful; but God did 
not choose him for his beauty. 
David loved God, and he wished and 
prayed to love Him more. When 
David was alone in the fields keeping 
his sheep, he liked to think of God. 
And then, David used to pray, and 
to play upon his harp, and sing 
beautiful hymns of praise to God. 
How pleasant it is when young peo¬ 
ple begin to love and serve the Lord 
early, as David did! 

When David came into his father’s 
house, God said to Samuel, “ Anoint 
him; this is the king I have chosen.” 
Then Samuel poured oil upon 
David’s head, and anointed him; 
and all his brothers looked on. 
David wondered why God should 
honor him so much, and give him 
the kingdom; but he was not proud 






DAVID PLAYS THE HARP BEFORE 
SAUL, i Samuel xvi. 23. 




Tissot Picture Society, New York. 


Copyright by do B runoff, 1904. 


And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon 
Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand.” 




































DAVID’S HARP. 


153 


of the honor. He did not want to 
be king directly; he waited pa¬ 
tiently for the right time. God had 
given David a better thing than the 
kingdom. He had given him His 


Holy Spirit. This made David 
truly wise. God himself had taught 
him about Christ, and Heaven, and 
future things which should happen 
after David’s death. 


CYII. 


P avid’s 

HILE young David was 
keeping his sheep in the 
fields of Bethlehem, and 
singing hisbeautiful songs 
of praise to God, Saul was 
in his house at Gibeah, very unhap¬ 
py. He had no comfort, none to 
love him and make him happy. 
When God went away from Saul, 
Satan came to him; for if God’s 
Holy Spirit is not in our hearts, 
Satan must be there. He likes to 
tempt people and make them sin; 
and he will try to make them worse 
and worse, till at last he brings 
them to hell. We must pray God 
to give us grace to resist the devil, 
that he may flee from us, and that 
the Holy Spirit may come and 
dwell in our hearts. 

Saul did not pray; and now Sa¬ 
tan was with him, making him every 
day more and more rebellious, and 
passionate, and cruel. He was often 
like a mad man, so wild and angry. 
Saul’s servants were sorry to see 
their master unhappy, and they 
spoke kindly to him, and tried to 
comfort him, and said to him, “ Let 
us seek a man who can play upon 
the harp; and let him come and 
play before thee; and thou shalt be 
well.” Saul answered, “ Yes, bring 
me a man who can play well.” Then 


ARP. 

one of the servants said, “ I know a 
young man who is very clever in 
playing upon ‘the harp; he is a 
brave man, and very wise too; and 
God is with him. He is a son of 
Jesse, and his name is David.” 
Then Saul commanded his servant 
to go, and bring David to him. So 
the servant went to Jesse, and told 
him Saul’s command; and David 
made himself ready directly, and 
went to the king’s house. Saul 
soon loved David, and told him to 
stay at his court, and made him his 
armor-bearer; and when the evil 
spirit came upon Saul, David used 
to play to him upon the harp. The 
sweet music comforted Saul, and 
made him better; and the evil 
spirit went away. But David’s mu¬ 
sic could not change Saul’s heart. 
It had no power to take away his 
sin, and to make him at peace with 
God. Saul was well for a little 
time, but soon the evil spirit re¬ 
turned. 

God alone has power to make us 
always truly happy. Only the 
Holy Spirit in our hearts can give 
us true peace. Saul had not this, 
because he did not ask for it. He 
did not pray God to take away the 
evil spirit, and to give him a new 
heart. He was pleased with David’s 










154 


GOLIATH. 


music, but he did not care about his misery, but he did not want to 
the holy things which David loved return to God. 
so much. Saul wanted to forget 


CVIII. 


p 


O LI AT H . 


HE Israelites’ old enemies, 
the Philistines, now came 
to fight against them 
again. They pitched their 
tents on a high moun¬ 
tain, and Saul and his army stood 
upon another mountain opposite, 
aud there was a valley between the 
two armies. The Philistines had 
with them a very bold commander, 
a great giant, named Goliath. He 
was very tall, and covered with 
thick armor; and he had a great 
sword, and shield, and spear: and 
he stood, and cried to the army of 
Israel, “ Why do you come to fight 
against me ? If you can, choose a 
man, and let him come and fight 
me, and try to kill me.” The Is¬ 
raelites were much frightened when 
they heard the proud Philistine 
speak thus, and Saul was frightened 
also. 

Jesse’s three eldest sons followed 
Saul to the battle, but David went 
home to keep his father’s sheep at 
Bethlehem. One day, Jesse called 
David, and said, “ Go now to the 
camp and see thy brothers, and ask 
if they are well, and take them 
some corn, and ten loaves of bread; 
and carry these ten cheeses to their 
captain.” David obeyed; he asked 
a man to keep his sheep while he 
was away, and went to the camp. 
When he came near the army, he 
heard a great shout; the soldiers 


were just going to begin the battle. 
Then David made haste, and ran to 
speak to his brethren. While they 
were talking, the great giant came 
out of the Philistine’s army, and 
spoke as he had done before; and 
David heard him. Then all the Is¬ 
raelites, when they saw Goliath, ran 
away for fear. But David said, 
“ Who is this Philistine who comes 
to frighten God’s people ? What 
power has he to hurt us, if God is 
on our side ? ” Then the eldest 
brother spoke very unkindly to 
David, and said, “ Why earnest thou 
here ? What hast thou done with 
the few sheep in the wilderness ? I 
know thy pride, and the haughti¬ 
ness of thy heart; for thou art 
come down to see the battle.” But 
David answered gently, “ What 
have I now done ? Is there not a 
cause ?” 

Then some of the people went to 
Saul, and told what David said; and 
Saul sent for David. When David 
came to the king, he spoke very 
boldly, for God made him bold, and 
he said, “ Do not fear this great 
Philistine; I am ready to go and 
fight him.” But Saul said, “ Thou 
hast not power to conquer him; 
thou art young, and he is very 
strong, and has been used to fight¬ 
ing all his life.” David answered, 
“I am a shepherd, and I keep my 
father’s sheep in Bethlehem. One 










DAVID SLINGS THE STONE 
1 Samuel xvii. 49 . 



Tissot Picture Society, New York. . © by de Brunoff, 1904. 

“And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote 
the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he 
fell upon his face to the earth.” 
















\ 







/ 













GOLIATH. 


155 


day, a lion and a bear came to my 
flock, and took away a lamb, and I 
ran, and killed the lion and the 
bear, and saved the lamb, and took it 
out of the lion’s mouth, and brought 
it back to the fold. It was God 
who gave me strength to kill those 
great animals, and I know He will 
give me power now to conquer this 
wicked Philistine. God is with us, 
and He will deliver us from our ene¬ 
mies.” Then Saul said, “Go, and 
the Lord be with thee.” Saul gave 
David all his armor, a helmet, and 
a spear, and a sword. But David 
said, “No, I do not want these; I 
have not been used to them.” So 
he took them all off, and chose five 
smooth stones, and put them into 
his shepherd’s bag; and he took a 
sling, and a staff, and went to meet 
the giant. Then the Philistine 
came out, but when he saw David, 
he laughed at him, and said, “ Canst 
thou conquer me ? Come to me, 
and I will give thy flesh to the birds 
of the air, and the beasts of the 
field! ” But David answered, “ Thou 
comest to me with a sword, and a 
spear, and a shield; but I come to 
thee in the name of the Lord, the 
God of Israel. I know that thou 
art very strong, and that I am weak, 
and unable of myself to fight thee; 
but God is with me, and He is 
stronger than thou. He will give 
me power to conquer and kill thee; 


for He can fight without swords and 
spears, for the battle is the Lord’s, 
and He will give you into our 
hands.” Then David ran to meet 
his great enemy. He took a stone, 
and put it into his sling, and slung 
it; and the stone went into the fore¬ 
head of the giant, and he fell down 
on the ground. Then David ran to 
the Philistine, and stood upon him, 
and took the sword of the giant, 
and slew him, and cut off his head; 
for David had no sword of his own. 
Then all the Philistines, when they 
saw that their commander was dead, 
fled; and the Israelites followed, 
and killed very many of them. The 
Israelites returned shouting for joy, 
and David took the giant’s head, and 
brought it to Jerusalem.. 

How could young David, without 
armor, conquer the great strong Phil¬ 
istine ? It was not David’s strength, 
nor his sling, nor his stone, that 
gained the victory; they had no 
power; it was David’s God who 
conquered, and He alone. David 
looked in faith to God for help, and 
He gave him the victory. We have 
enemies to fight too; not great sol¬ 
diers like Goliath, but enemies who 
fight against our souls. We must 
fight in God’s strength, not in our 
own. We must ask God to fight 
for us, and then we shall be enabled 
to conquer and gain the victory. 



156 


THE TWO FKIENDS, 


CIX. 


J H E 


Jwo 


j 7 F^J ENDS. 


HEN Saul saw David go¬ 
ing to fight with the 
giant, he called Abner, 
the captain of the army, 
and asked, “ Who is that 
young man ?” Saul had known 
David before; for, when the evil 
spirit made him unhappy, Da¬ 
vid had often played to him on 
the harp. But Saul had forgotten 
David now. When the fight was 
over, Abner called David, and led 
him to Saul, with the giant’s head 
in his hand. Then Saul asked, 
“Who art thou, young man?” 
And David said, “ I am the son of 
Jesse of Bethlehem.” Jonathan, 
Saul’s son, was standing by; and 
when he saw David, and heard him 
speak, he began to love him. David 
did not go home again to Bethle¬ 
hem. Saul took him to live with 
him at court, and David was cap¬ 
tain over the soldiers. It was a 
great honor to David to live at 
court with the king; but he was 
not proud of his honor. He was 
humble, and respectful, and obe¬ 
dient. He always remembered his 
duty to Saul, and tried to please 
him in everything. This was very 
wise and right in David. 

Saul’s servants loved David, be¬ 
cause he was so kind, and gentle, 
and humble, and wise; and Saul, 
too, loved him at first. Jonathan 


and David were very dear friends: 
they loved one another like brothers, 
and Jonathan was kind and gener¬ 
ous to David, and gave him his 
own robe, and his bow, and his 
sword, and his girdle. Jonathan 
served God; and when he saw that 
David served Him too, Jonathan 
made him his friend. How pleasant 
it is when young people begin to 
love and serve God together! We 
ought always to choose friends who 
love God, not friends who love the 
world. Worldly friendships soon 
end; they cannot comfort us when 
we are in sorrow, nor when we die ; 
and we cannot meet worldly friends 
in Heaven. But holy friendships 
never end ; we may part from our 
dear friends for a little time, but 
soon we shall meet them in heaven, 
and never lose them again. 

While David and Jonathan were 
living so happily together, Saul was 
very miserable. Why were David 
and Jonathan happy? Because 
God was their friend, and His bless¬ 
ing was upon them. And why 
was Saul miserable ? Because God 
was his enemy, and he had none to 
comfort him. His riches, and king¬ 
dom, and power, and servants, could 
not make him happy. “There is 
no peace to the wicked.” Isaiah 
lvii. 21. 





SAUL’S HATRED TO DAVID. 


157 


cx. 



AUL 


S 


p 


A T R E D 


T O 


PAVID. 



AUL now began to hate 
David. Why ? Because 
he was jealous of him, for 
he thought the people 
loved David more than 
they loved himself. After the bat¬ 
tle and the victory, when Saul and 
all his people were going home, the 
women came out to meet them; 
and they sang, and played, and 
danced, and shouted for joy. They 
sang, “ Saul has slain his thousands, 
but David his ten thousands.” This 
made the king very angry. He 
thought they gave very little honor 
to him, and a great deal of honor to 
David, and that they loved David 
best, and would make him king. 
So Saul grew very jealous, and 
looked unkindly at David; though 
David had done no wrong. Jeal¬ 
ousy is a very great sin. We ought 
to be glad to see good people honored 
and loved. It is very wrong to want 
to have all the praise ourselves, 
and to feel angry when others are 
praised. We ought to ask God to 
take jealousy and selfishness out of 


our hearts. 

The next day, the evil spirit came 
into Saul again; and David took 
his harp and began to play, and 
tried to quiet him. But David’s 
harp did not take away Saul’s pas¬ 
sion now. Saul had a spear in his 
hand, and he tried to throw it at 
David while he played: but David 
turned away, and the spear passed 
without hurting him. When Saul 
saw that God was David’s friend, he 
was afraid; he could not kill David, 
but he sent him away, because he 
n 


did not like to see him. He made 
David captain over the soldiers; 
and they all loved him, and the 
people loved him; and God loved 
him too, and kept him, wherever he 
went. David conquered and killed 
many of the Philistines. Saul hoped 
he would be slain in battle; but God 
brought him back safely. 

David married Michal, Saul’s 
daughter, and she loved him; but 
Saul hated him more and more, 
and tried again to kill him, and 
commanded Jonathan and all his 
servants to put David to death. 
Jonathan was much frightened to 
hear this command, and he went to 
David, and said, “ My father seeketh 
to kill thee; go now and hide, and 
I will talk to my father about thee, 
and tell thee what he says.” So 
David went and hid himself, and 
Jonathan went home to Saul, and 
began to talk to him. Jonathan 
spoke very gently and respectfully to 
his father, for he honored him, as his 
father and his king. He said, “ Do 
not sin against David; do not slay 
him; for he is very good, and never 
hurt nor disobeyed thee. Remember 
how bravely he fought the Philis¬ 
tines, and conquered the great giant. 
Thou didst rejoice in what he did 
then, why wilt thou slay him now ?* 
Saul attended to Jonathan, and 
promised not to slay David; so 
Jonathan called his friend, and 
brought him back. 

Jonathan did great good, because 
he was kind and gentle. Solomon 
says, "A soft answer turneth away 
wrath.” Prov. xv. 1. Jonathan 





158 


DAVID AT RAMAH. 


turned away his father’s wrath by 
softness and gentleness. When peo¬ 
ple are angry and passionate, we 
should try to speak kindly and 
affectionately to them; we ought to 
tell them that anger and passion are 
very sinful, but we must tell them 


so gently, not angrily. And we 
should pray God to turn away their 
wrath, because He alone has power 
to quiet sinful passions. Try to be 
like Jonathan; kind, and affection¬ 
ate, and humble, as he was. 


CXI. 


P A Y I D AT 

00N after, there was a 
new war with the Philis¬ 
tines, and David went out 
and conquered them; and 
then Saul’s jealous tem¬ 
per returned. One day, Saul was 
sitting in his house: the evil spirit 
was in him, and David was playing 
to him upon the harp. Saul had a 
spear in his hand, and again Satan 
tempted him to throw it at David 
to kill him. But David saw what 
Saul was doing, and escaped out 
of the room; and the spear went 
into the wall, and did not hurt him. 
Then Saul sent servants to take 
David in his own house: but 
Michal let him down out of a win¬ 
dow, and he escaped to Samuel at 
Ramah. 

David had a sad story to tell 
Samuel about Saul. It made the 
old prophet very unhappy, be¬ 
cause he remembered that in past 
times Saul had been humble and 
obedient, and Samuel had loved him 
then. There was a school of the 
prophets at Naioth in Ramah ; and 
there Samuel went, and he took 
David with him. It must have 
been very pleasant to David to be 
with these holy people, talking and 
prophesying of the things of God, 


AMAH, 

far away from cruel angry Saul. 
But Saul soon heard where David 
was, and sent messengers to Ramah 
to take him prisoner. And did God 
let the enemies of David hurt him ? 
No—when the messengers came to 
Ramah, God gave them the spirit 
of prophecy : and instead of taking 
David, they stood by him, and Sam¬ 
uel, and the other holy men, pro¬ 
phesied too. Then Saul sent more 
messengers to Ramah, but they be¬ 
gan to prophesy. At last Saul went 
himself; for he was very angry, and 
determined that David should not 
escape. But when Saul came to 
Ramah, the spirit came upon him, 
and he prophesied too, with all the 
others, before Samuel: and Saul’s 
wish and power to hurt David were 
taken from him. 

But was Saul’s heart made new 
now? Was his sinful temper gone, 
and was he beginning to love and 
serve God ? No: Saul praised 
God, and said many holy things, 
perhaps, when he prophesied at 
Ramah, with his lips, but he did 
not feel them in his heart. He did 
not repent, nor ask for pardon, nor 
pray for a new heart; and therefore 
the evil spirit soon came again, and 
Saul was cruel and passionate, as he 







DAVID’S ESCAPE. 


159 


was before. Many people, like Saul, 
know much about God, and the 
Bible, and the holy things we read 
there, who never go to Heaven. 
Knowing and talking about these 
things cannot save our souls. We 
must love God in our hearts, and 
have our sins washed away in the 
blood of Jesus Christ, and be made 


new and clean by the Holy Spirit, 
and then we shall be taken to 
Heaven; but knowledge alone will 
never take us there. God sees our 
hearts; He knows if we truly love 
Him, or if, like Saul, we only pre¬ 
tend to love Him. We cannot de¬ 
ceive God: let us ask Him, then, to 
teach us to serve Him in truth. 


CXII. 


J) A VI D ’ S jiSCAPE. 



AVID escaped from Ra- 
mah, and went again to 
Jonathan, and told him 
all his trouble. David 
said, “ I know thy father 
Saul is seeking to kill me. He 
does not tell thee this, because he 
knows how it would vex thee; but I 
am quite sure that there is but a step 
between me and death.” Then 
Jonathan was very sorry, and he 
said, "Tell me, what can I do to 
save thee ?” David answered, “ To¬ 
morrow Saul has a great feast, and 
he thinks I shall be there; let me 
hide myself instead of going to the 
feast. My father has a great sacri¬ 
fice for his family at Bethlehem, and 
I wish to be there. If Saul inquires 
for me, tell him, I asked to go to my 
father’s sacrifice at Bethlehem, and 
see if he is very angry or not.” 
Jonathan said, " Let us go out now 
into the field, and we will think 
what we must do.” 

So they both went out, and walked 
in the field, and then Jonathan said, 
"To-morrow I will talk to my father, 
and if I see that he is kind and 
friendly, I will send and tell thee; or 
if he is angry, then too I will tell 


thee, and send thee away safely. 
But if we part, and never see one 
another again, do not forget me; 
love me, and think about me while 
I live; and after I am dead, remem¬ 
ber me, and be kind to my children 
and family, and do not forget my 
love to thee.” Then David promised 
never to forget Jonathan ; and to 
love his children, and be kind to 
them after Jonathan’s death. But 
David and Jonathan could not stay 
long to talk; David must hide him¬ 
self very quickly; and so Jonathan 
said," Go now; and, after three days, 
come again to the place where thou 
didst hide before. Then I will come, 
and bring a lad with me; and I 
will shoot arrows, and tell the lad to 
go and bring them to me. If I tell 
the lad that the arrow is near to him, 
know that all is safe; but if I tell 
him that the arrows are far off be¬ 
yond him, then know that there is 
danger, and make haste, and escape.” 
David understood this; and then 
he went away, and Jonathan came 
home. 

Next day was Saul’s feast. David 
was not there; Saul looked for him, 
but he could not see him; and 








160 


DAVID’S ESCAPE. 


he wondered where he was, but said 
nothing. Next day again, David 
was not at the feast, and Saul 
asked, “ Where is David ? He was 
not at the feast yesterday, and I do 
not see him here to-day; why does 
he not come ?” Jonathan said, 
“ He asked me to let him go home 
to a sacrifice at Bethlehem, because 
his father wanted him to be there.” 
Then Saul was angry, and he said, 
“David shall die: send, and bring 
him here, for he shall surely die ?” 
But Jonathan answered, “Why 
must David die ? He has done no 
wrong.” Then Saul grew still more 
angry, and he threw a spear at 
Jonathan, to kill him, because he 
loved David. But Jonathan arose 
quickly, and went away from the 
table. He could not stay at the 
feast, because he was afraid of his 
father, and unhappy about his dear 
friend. 

The third day, Jonathan went 
again into the field to meet David, 
and he took a little boy with him. 
Jonathan had his bow and arrows; 
and he shot an arrow a long way 
off, and said to the boy, “Bun, aid 
bring me the arrow, there it is be¬ 


yond thee.” Why did Jonathan 
shoot the arrow beyond the boy? 
Because Jonathan wanted David to 
understand that there was danger, 
and that he must escape directly. 
David was hidden in the field, and 
heard what Jonathan said. The 
boy brought the arrow to his master, 
and then Jonathan sent him home. 
The boy knew nothing about Da¬ 
vid. When he was gone, David 
arose and came to Jonathan, ne 
knew that he must go now, and part 
from his dear friend; and that per¬ 
haps they would never meet again. 
David and Jonathan embraced and 
kissed one another, and wept. And 
then Jonathan said, “Go in peace; 
God will be with us ; He will be our 
friend. Do not forget me, nor my 
children after me; and I will never 
forget thee.” So David went away, 
and Jonathan returned home. 

This was a sad parting. It is 
always sad to lose our dear friends. 
But if friends love God, then they 
know that He is with them, and that 
He will take care of them, and bring 
them all safely to their home in 
Heaven. There dear friends will 
meet in joy, and never part again. 



DAVID AT NOB. 


161 


CXIII. 


p 


AVID AT 




O B. 



HERE did David go when 
he had parted from Jona¬ 
than ? First, he went to 
Nob, in Benjamin, where 
the tabernacle was; and 
there he saw Ahimelech the priest. 
David knew that he could not now 
go often to worship God in the holy 
place; he must hide from Saul, and 
escape to save his life. And it made 
David unhappy to think of this, be¬ 
cause he loved the worship of God. 
Ahimelech wondered very much to 
see David, and he asked why he 
came. Did David tell him ? No : 
David was afraid to speak the truth ; 
he was tempted to tell a lie. He 
said, “ King Saul sent me here upon 
secret business. He commanded me 
not to say what the business is. 
Give me, I pray thee, some of the 
bread I see there.” The bread which 
Ahimelech had was the shew-bread. 
It was hallowed bread; the priests 
alone might eat it; but Ahimelech 
gave some to David, and the men 
with him, because they were hungry, 
and could get no common bread. 
Then David asked the priest to give 
him some armor. Ahimelech had 
there the sword of Goliath, and he 
showed it to David. David was 


pleased to see it again, for it made 
him remember how God had helped 
him to conquer and kill the great 
giant, a little time before. Then 
Ahimelech gave David the sword, 
and let him go. 

Where did David go ? He went 
to Gath, to king Achish. Achish was 
a kind king; but he was a Philis¬ 
tine, and his people did not like 
David to be there, because they re¬ 
membered what he had done, in 
past times, to the Philistines. And 
David was unhappy at Gath ; for he 
was afraid of Achish and his people; 
he thought that perhaps they might 
kill him, or tell Saul about him. 
Did David trust God in his danger ? 
Yes: but David was a poor weak 
sinner, and very often fear made him 
forget God, and do what was wrong. 
Fear had made him tell a lie to 
Ahimelech, at Nob; and now fear 
made him deceitful again to Achish, 
at Gath. He pretended to be mad, 
and ran about wildly, and scratched 
upon the doors, and did many more 
foolish things. Then Achish sent 
him away, and David went and hid 
in a cave; and there all his family 
and friends came to him to comfort 
him. 







162 


THE PRIESTS KILLED. 


CXIV. 


J H E j 3 I^I E S T S JClLLE 


HEN David was in the 
tabernacle at Nob, talk¬ 
ing to the priests, a man 
was there named Doeg. 
He was keeper of Saul’s 
cattle ; a very wicked man, and an 
enemy ol David. Saul beard that 
David was escaping from place to 
place, and he tried to find him, that 
tie might kill him, and he asked his 
servants to tell him all they knew 
about David, and who were his 
friends who helped him to escape. 
Then Doeg said, “ I saw David come 
to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest, 
and Ahimelech gave him food, and 
the sword of the giant Goliath.” 
Then Saul sent for Ahimelech, and 
all the priests that were at Nob. 

When the priests came to Saul, 
he spoke very angrily to them, and 
said to Ahimelech, “ Why hast thou 
given bread and a sword to David 
my enemy, and helped him to fight 
against me, and kill me ? Ahime¬ 
lech answered, “ David is not an 
enemy; he is faithful, and obedient 
to the king; and I knew nothing of 
all this.” But Saul would not at¬ 
tend to Ahimelech, and he com¬ 
manded the servants, who stood by, 
to put Ahimelech, and all the other 
priests, to death. The servants 
feared God more than their cruel 


master did; and they would not 
kill these holy priests. Then Saul 
turned to Doeg, and told him to 
kill the priests. Doeg was glad to 
obey; and he drew his sword, and 
slew them all, eighty-five in number, 
and then went to Nob, and killed 
the people there; men, and women, 
and children. Only one son of 
Ahimelech, named Abiathar, es* 
caped, and ran to David, and told 
him the sad story. David spoke 
very kindly to Abiathar, and made 
him come and live with him; and 
they comforted one another. 

How very wicked Saul had be¬ 
come! He began with impatience 
and disobedience; now, Satan made 
him a murderer of God’s people. 
Wicked tempers grow worse and 
worse every day, if they are not sub¬ 
dued by God’s grace. God had gone 
away from Saul, because Saul would 
not pray; and now, Satan and his 
own wicked heart taught him to do 
these dreadful things. 

Abiathar was the only priest left 
of Eli’s family. Many years before, 
God had said that he would destroy 
them, because Eli had not punished 
his wicked sons. God never forgets 
what he says. He forgave Eli; but 
He punished his sin. 





DAVID’S WANDERINGS. 


163 


cxv. 


J) A 


V I D S 




N D E R I N G S 


3 was not alone in 
wanderings. Many 
came to him to help 
; they followed wher¬ 
ever he went; he was 
their captain, and they obeyed him. 
Some of David’s soldiers were very 
brave men. The Philistines were 
now fighting again against Israel; 
and David and his men used to go, 
and try to conquer them. One day, 
David was very tired and thirsty 
with long fighting. The Philistines’ 
camp was then at Bethlehem ; and 
there was a well of water at Bethle¬ 
hem ; but David and his men were 
afraid to drink it, because their 
enemies were near. When David was 
so thirsty, he cried, “ Oh! that one 
would give me to drink of the water 
of the well of Bethlehem!” David’s 
soldiers heard what he said; and they 
bravely ran in through their enemies, 
to the well, and drew the water, and 
brought it to David. They loved 
their master so much, that they did 
not think about their own danger. 
Was David glad to drink the water ? 
No; he saw his friends in danger, 
and he did not like them to suffer 
for him; and when they brought the 
water to him, he said, “ No, I will 
not drink it; my brave soldiers have 
suffered more than I, and they are 
thirsty too; this water is too good 
for me; I will give it to God.” So he 
poured it out an offering to the Lord. 

The Philistines now came to 
fight against a place named Keilah; 
and David asked God if he should 
go and try to save it. He was right 
to ask, for we ought always to ask 


God’s blessing before we do any 
thing. God told David to go, and 
promised to help him; so David 
went, and fought against the Philis¬ 
tines, and saved the people of Kei¬ 
lah. When Saul heard that David 
was there, he thought he could kill 
him, and that he could not escape. 
But David again asked help from 
God, and was delivered. Wicked 
people cannot hurt the servants of 
God without His permission, and 
God did not permit Saul to hurt 
David. David now wandered about 
in the woods and deserts, for fear of 
Saul. It was a sad life; but he 
trusted in God, and was peaceful 
and happy. He wrote many beauti¬ 
ful psalms when he was wandering 
and hiding in those wild places. 

Where was Jonathan? Did he 
ever see his friend David again? 
Yes, Jonathan had not forgotten 
him; and when he heard where 
David was, he went to see him se¬ 
cretly in the wood. David and 
Jonathan were very glad to meet 
again for a little time. They had 
much to say to one another. Jona¬ 
than comforted David in the right 
way; he told him to trust in God. 
He said, “ Do not fear; my father 
cannot hurt thee, because God has 
promised to keep thee, and to make 
thee king; and He never forgets 
His promises.” Then David and 
Jonathan prayed together, and 
kissed one another for the last time: 
they never met again on earth. But 
now their happy souls are in heaven 
together; all their sorrows are 
ended; they will never weep again. 






164 


SAUL IN THE CAVE. 


CXYI. 


p 


AUL 


IN THE 


p 


A VE. 


HEN Saul had finished 
fighting with the Philis¬ 
tines, he went into the 
wilderness, and many sol¬ 
diers with him; and they 
all wandered about among the 
rocks, trying to find David. But 
God still kept David in safety from 
his enemies. At last Saul came to a 
cave, and went into it to rest; for 
he was tired. The cave was very 
large, it could hold many people, 
and Saul and his men were not 
alone in it. Who were there besides ? 
David and his soldiers were in the 
cave; but Saul did not see them, be¬ 
cause they were in another part of it; 
so he went in, and lay down, and was 
soon asleep. David’s men saw Saul 
come into the cave, and said to their 
master, “ See, there is Saul; God 
has given him into thy hand.” Then 
David arose and went to Saul. 
There he lay asleep; he had no 
power to hurt David, and David 
could kill him if he liked. And did 
he kill Saul ? No ; David had no 
angry feelings in his heart; he did 
not wish to hurt his enemy; but he 
went quietly and cut off a piece of 
Saul’s robe. When David came 
again to his men, he felt sorry. 
Why ? Because he had not killed 
Saul ? No; David was sorry because 
he had cut off part of Saul’s robe. 
Then David commanded his ser¬ 
vants not to kill Saul, nor hurt 
him. 

When Saul awoke, he arose to go 
away. He did not know what 


David had done; but David cried 
out, and said to him, “My Lord, 
the king!” Saul turned round; 
and David bowed respectfully before 
him, and said, “ God to-day gave 
thee into my power, when thou 
wast asleep in the cave: but I re¬ 
membered that thou art a king 
chosen by God, and therefore I did 
not hurt thee. I never did thee 
any wrong; why dost thou try to 
kill me ? God knows that I am not 
thine enemy ?” Then Saul began to 
weep, and said, “ Is it thy voice, my 
son David ?” Why did Saul weep ? 
Because he felt how unkind he had 
been to David, and how kind David 
was to him. David’s gentleness 
made Saul gentle too. 

Saul said, “ Thou hast been more 
righteous than I. Thou hast re¬ 
warded me good, though I rewarded 
thee evil.” Then Saul asked David 
to spare his family after his death : 
for Saul knew that God would give 
David the kingdom. David pro¬ 
mised this, and Saul went home; 
and David’s kindness made Saul 
kind for a little time. 

If we have enemies, we ought to 
act towards them as David did 
towards his enemy. The Bible says, 
“ Love your enemies.” When people 
are unkind to us, we must try to 
be kind and forgiving to them. 
When our enemies are in sorrow, 
we must comfort them, and help 
them, and try to make them happy. 
If they are wicked, we ought to talk 
gently to them, and beg of them to 





NABAL AND ABIGAIL. 


165 


repent of their sin, and turn to God. 
And we ought to pray God to for¬ 
give them, and to give them new 


hearts, and make them kind, and 
gentle, and holy. If we do not for¬ 
give, God will not forgive us. 


CXVII. 

JSfABAL AND B I G A I L. 


HEN David was wander¬ 
ing about in the wilder¬ 
ness of Engedi and Paran, 
he and his men often 
wanted food; but they 
never tried to get it in a wrong 
way, nor to steal from those near 
them. 

There was a man who lived at 
Maon, named Habal. He was very 
rich, and had great possessions in 
Carmel: sheep, and goats, and asses, 
and camels. He lived near the 
place where David now was, and he 
was shearing his sheep in Carmel: 
David knew that Habal was very 
rich, and he sent messengers to 
him, to ask for food. David’s ser¬ 
vants spoke very respectfully to 
Habal; they did not rudely ask for 
what they wanted; for David taught 
them to honor and respect all men. 
But Habal was a selfish and cruel 
man. He did not care for other 
people; he tried only to please him¬ 
self. All his money, and all his pos¬ 
sessions, he kept for his own use; 
he never thought about the poor 
and hungry, who had no food and 
no home. Why does God give some 
people riches ? Does He wish them 
to keep all themselves, and give 
none away? Ho, when God gives 
riches to people, He likes them to 
be kind and generous; He wishes 
them to do good with what they 
have. At the day of judgment, God 


will punish those rich people who 
have not rightly spent what he gave 
them. 

Habal was angry with David’s 
servants; instead of giving them 
any thing, he drove them away in a 
passion, and sent them back again 
to David. When David heard of Ha- 
bal’s unkindness and passion, he was 
angry too. Was David right to be 
angry ? Ho ; he ought to have 
been patient and forgiving, as he 
was when Saul was unkind to him 

So David told his men to take 
their swords, and he made all ready 
to go to Habal, to kill him, because 
he had been unkind and selfish, and 
cruel. But Habal had a wife named 
Abigail. She was not like her hus¬ 
band ; she was gentle, and kind, 
and willing to give away what she 
could. When Abigail heard about 
Habal’s cruelty, she was very sor¬ 
ry. She knew that David was a 
good man, and that he was in great 
trouble, and trying to hide from 
Saul; and Abigail wished to be kind 
to him and his men. So she called 
her servants, and told them to make 
ready some sheep, and corn, and 
figs, and grapes, and to put them 
upon asses, and take them to David; 
and she followed, but she did not 
tell Habal where she was going. 

When Abigail met with David, 
she came down from the ass, and 
fell on her face before him. Then 










166 


DAVID’S KINDNESS TO SAUL. 


she spoke very gently to David, and 
asked him not to be angry, but to 
forgive her wicked husband. Abi¬ 
gail loved God; and she told David 
how wrong it is to be passionate 
and angry; but she spoke very re¬ 
spectfully when she said this, and 
reminded David that God could 
preserve him, and punish his ene¬ 
mies ; and that, therefore, he must 
be patient, and leave all to God. 
When David heard Abigail talk so 
gently, he became gentle too. He 
felt he had done wrong, and he 
thanked God for sending Abigail 
to keep him from shedding blood. 
So Abigail gave the present to Da¬ 
vid, and he thanked her, and she 
went home. And David and his 
men had food to eat now, without 
fighting and shedding blood. It 
was not right for David to punish 
Nabal, but God punished him. God 
must punish our enemies, not we. 

When Abigail came home, she 


found Nabal making a great feast 
with his friends. They were eating 
and drinking, and very merry. It 
was wicked merriment. They loved 
their own pleasure and ease; but 
they did not think of their poor 
hungry neighbors; they did not 
care for God, nor holy things: all 
their thoughts were about this 
world; eating and drinking, and 
pleasing themselves. Abigail did 
not stay with this wicked company; 
she did not speak to Nabal then, 
but next morning, she told him 
about David, and all that she had 
done. Nabal felt frightened and 
unhappy at what his wife said. He 
knew he had done wrong; but Abi¬ 
gail’s reproof did not make him 
repent, and turn to God. He had 
no comfort now. His riches and 
his worldly company could do him 
no good; and God was not his 
friend. He lived only ten days 
after. 


50CX> 


CXVIII. 


P avid’s piNDNESS TO ^AUL, 



AMUEL was now dead. 
He died and was buried 
at Ramah ; and all Israel 
wept and mourned for 
him. But Samuel’s hap¬ 
py soul went to Heaven, where 
is no crying nor sorrow. Samuel 
began very young to love and serve 
God, and he loved and served Him 
all his life long. He was not like 
Saul, who began well, but soon grew 
tired of doing right. Saul was only 
pretending to love God; he did not 
truly love Him; his heart had 
never been made new by the Holy 


Spirit. But Samuel was a true ser¬ 
vant of God. When he was a little 
boy, he prayed God to teach him to 
love and serve Him, and God heard 
his prayer. And when Samuel grew 
older, he still prayed that God would 
keep him in the right way. And 
God never forsook his faithful ser¬ 
vant. He took care of Samuel all 
his life, He comforted him in sor¬ 
row, He loved him when he grew 
old; and when he died, He took 
his happy soul to be with Him in 
glory for ever. Was Samuel sorry 
that he began so soon to serve God ? 








DAYID’S KINDNESS TO SAUL. 


167 


No; he was happy all his life, be¬ 
cause God was his friend. We can¬ 
not begin too soon to serve God; 
we should give Him our whole life; 
we should love Him when we are 
young, and love Him more and 
more every day, till we die, and go 
to Heaven, to love and serve Him 
for ever. 

David was now in the wilderness 
of Ziph, and Saul again went to seek 
him there. Had Saul forgotten his 
promise to be kind to David ? Yes; 
Saul’s sorrow for his cruelty was 
soon gone. It was not the right 
sorrow. Right sorrow makes people 
turn to God, and ask for forgiveness 
for the past, and grace for the fu¬ 
ture. Saul did not do this. He 
went home, but he did not pray ; 
he did not care for God’s pardon ; 
and soon Satan came to him again, 
and his wicked temper returned, 
and he forgot his promise, and his 
sorrow, and went again to try to kill 
David. 

David saw Saul come into the 
wilderness, but Saul did not see 
him ; so he put a pillow upon the 
ground, and lay down, and fell 
asleep, and all his men slept too. 
Then David arose and went to Saul. 
Why did David go ? Did he want 
to kill him? No; David did not 
wish to kill his enemy; but he went 
and looked at him while he slept. 

Saul was lying upon the ground 
on the pillow; his spear was by 
him, and the soldiers were sleep¬ 
ing around him. It was night, all 
was quiet; none saw David and his 


men. Then one of David’s servants 
said, “ Let us kill Saul now; all his 
soldiers are asleep, and he is in our 
power; he cannot defend himself.” 
But David said, “ No, we must not 
kill him, though he is our enemy. 
God will punish him when He 
pleases, but we have no right to 
punish him. He is our king, and 
we are his servants, and therefore, 
we must respect and honor Saul.” 

David took away Saul’s spear, and 
a bottle of water which was near 
the pillow, and went to the top of a 
hill afar off; and then he cried to 
Saul’s captain, whose name was 
Abner, and said, “ What are you 
doing? Why do you not keep 
your king ? See where the king’s 
spear is, and the cruse of water that 
was at his bolster.” Saul knew 
David’s voice, and he said, “Is this 
thy voice, my son David ?” Then 
David said, “ Yes, it is my voice. 
Why dost thou come, seeking to 
kill me ? What evil have I done ?” 
Saul again felt sorry, and said, “ I 
have sinned, but I will no more 
do thee wrong.” Then David 
willingly forgave Saul; and spoke 
gently to him; and one of Saul’s 
servants came, and took back the 
spear and the bottle of water; and 
then Saul blessed David, and they 
parted. 

Saul and David never met again. 
It was pleasant to David to part in 
peace, and not in anger. But Saul 
was not truly penitent. He was at 
peace with David, but he was not 
at peace with God. 




168 


DAVID AT ZIKLAG. 


CXIX. 


P A Y I D A' 

AVID now began to be 
tired of wandering about 
in fear of Saul. He 
thought that perhaps Saul 
would forget his promise, 
and come again and try to kill him; 
so he detrmined to go to the Phil¬ 
istines’ country; and ask Achish, 
king of Gath, to take care of him. 
Then David called his family, and 
his soldiers; and they all went to 
Gath. Achish was very kind to 
David, and gave him a city named 
Ziklag, and there David lived in 
safety. Saul knew where he was, but 
he did not again try to kill him. 

David was not idle when he lived 
at Ziklag. He went out, and fought 
against the Amalekites, and con¬ 
quered, and killed them. This was 
right, for God had commanded them 
to be destroyed. But when David 
came back to Ziklag, he did some¬ 
thing that was very wrong. He tried 
to deceive Achish. Achish asked him 
where he had been fighting. David 
was afraid to say that he had de¬ 
stroyed the Amalekites; he thought 
it might displease Achish; so he 
said he had been fighting south of 
.1 udah. Then Achish was glad, for 
he thought David had forsaken his 
own people Israel, and was fighting 
against them, and that he would 
come and help Achish to conquer 
the Israelites. 

Soon after this, Achish made his 
army ready, and called David and 
his men, and told him to go with 


IKLAG, 

him to fight against Israel. What 
could David do now ? He could 
not go and fight against his own peo¬ 
ple ; and he was afraid to tell 
Achish the truth, and to confess how 
deceitful he had been. So he pre¬ 
pared to go with the army of Achish; 
but he felt very sad as he stood with 
the soldiers of the Philistines, 
ready to fight against his own coun¬ 
try. But God helped David in this 
time of difficulty. When the lords 
of the Philistines saw David and 
his soldiers, they asked why those 
Israelites were in the army. Achish 
told them, that David, their com¬ 
mander, was his friend, and had 
lived with him a long time, and 
would help him to fight against the 
Israelites. But the lords of the 
Philistines would not consent to this: 
they would not have David in their 
army, for they thought he would 
not be a true friend to them, and so 
they would not trust him. Achish 
was sorry; but he called David and 
his men, and told them what the 
lords of the Philistines had said. 
David pretended to be sorry, and 
said, “ Why may I not go to fight 
the king’s enemies? Have I not 
been thy faithful servant a long 
time ?” Achish answered, “ I know 
that thou art good in my sight; 
but the Philistines have said, David 
shall not go with us to the battle.” 
So David and his men returned to 
Ziklag, and the Philistines went on 
to Jezreel, to fight against Israel. 





ZIKLAG BURNT. 


169 


cxx. 


IKLAG 

OD was very kind to Da¬ 
vid in keeping him from 
fighting against Israel; 
but He punished him for 
his conduct at Ziklag, be¬ 
cause He wanted David to be more 
humble, and more sorry for his sin. 

When David and his men came 
back to Ziklag, they saw the city in 
ruins. The walls were thrown 
down, the houses were burnt, and 
their wives and families were gone. 
How was this ? The Amalekites 
had come, while David was away, 
and conquered Ziklag, and taken all 
the people prisoners. David and his 
men had no home now; and when 
they looked round, and saw their 
city in ruins, and thought about 
their wives and children, they all 
began to weep. They wept till they 
had no more power to weep. They 
were all unhappy; but David was 
more unhappy than his men. Why? 
Because he remembered his own 
sin, and because his soldiers were 
angry, and spoke unkindly to him. 
David was in great sorrow,—where 
did he go for comfort? Had he 
any kind friend to help him in his 
sorrow? Yes; he had one friend, 
who was ready to comfort him; 
and this was God. David had for¬ 
gotten his best friend a long time; 
he had trusted in Achish, and the 
Philistines, more than in God, and 
had made friends of them. But 


U RNT. 

Achish and the Philistines could 
not help David now; he was alone, 
without an earthly friend to com¬ 
fort him; and then he remembered 
his friend in Heaven, and felt very 
sorry he had so displeased and for¬ 
gotten Him. David prayed, and 
asked forgiveness for his sinful de¬ 
ceit; and God heard his prayer, and 
forgave his sin. God had not for¬ 
gotten David, He was waiting for 
him to repent, and He was ready to 
pardon. 

David felt happy when God had 
forgiven him. But how could he 
get back his family and his posses¬ 
sions ? He asked God ; and He 
told him to follow after his enemies, 
and promised to help him. And 
did David conquer the cruel Amale¬ 
kites ? Yes, he soon overtook them. 
He found them all eating, and drink¬ 
ing, and dancing for joy, because 
they had taken away so much riches 
from Ziklag. But David and his 
men soon smote all the Amalekites; 
and took away their own wives and 
children, and brought them horde 
in safety. 

How kind God was to David after 
all David’s forgetfulness of God! 
David felt very thankful, and very 
humble, when he remembered his 
sins; and he learned in future to 
trust not in himself but in God 
alone. 






170 


THE WITCH OF ENDOR. 


OXXI. 


Jh E |lTCH 

HEEE was Saul this long 
time ? He wag still at 
his house, unhappy and 
discontented ; the evil 
spirit troubling him more 
and more. The Philistines now came 
to fight against Israel, and Saul 
gathered together all his soldiers 
at Gilboa. But he felt much 
frightened when he looked upon 
the army of his enemies, for he 
knew that He had not God to fight 
for him. 

Saul went and asked God to help 
him; but had no answer. Saul had 
forsaken God; now God forsook 
him. Saul had no answer, be¬ 
cause he did not pray humbly; he 
was not truly sorry for his sin. He 
was frightened and miserable, but 
he was not penitent and hum¬ 
ble. God promises always to an¬ 
swer sincere prayers; but Saul’s 
prayer was careless and insincere; 
and, therefore, God would not at¬ 
tend to it. 

What could Saul do now ? Where 
did he go for help? Did he pray 
again to God, and ask for a new 
heart, and a right spirit ? Ho, 
Saul was soon tired of prayer, for 
he did not care for God’s blessing 
and forgiveness. He called his 
servants, and asked them if they 
knew a witch who could tell him 
what he wanted to know. The 
witches were wicked women who 
pretended to have the power of rais¬ 
ing dead people, and of foretelling 
future things. God had commanded 
them to be put to death. But Saul 
was now grown so foolish, and so 


OF JS N D O R, 

wicked, that he wished to ask advice 
of a witch, and not of God, nor of 
His holy prophets. 

Saul’s servants told him there was 
a witch living at Endor; so he 
changed his dress, that people might 
not know him, and went secretly, 
by night, to Endor. Saul came to 
the house where this wicked wo¬ 
man lived, and asked her to raise a 
dead man to life for him. The wo¬ 
man did not know Saul; and she 
refused at first to do what he wished, 
for she was afraid of being put to 
death. But Saul told her not to 
fear; and promised she should not 
be punished. Then she said, 
“Whom shall I bring up?” And 
Saul told her to bring up Samuel. 
The foolish woman had no power to 
raise Samuel. But God showed 
His power by causing a figure like 
Samuel to come up, and speak to 
Saul. When the woman saw the 
figure coming up out of the ground, 
she was very much frightened, and 
cried out for fear. Then Saul looked 
too. What did he see ? He saw 
the figure of an old man; he 
thought it was Samuel, and he 
bowed down to the ground. Then 
the figure asked, “Why hast thou 
called me up?” Saul said, “I am 
sore distressed; the Philistines 
make war against me; God is gone 
from me; and answers me no more, 
and I have called thee to tell me 
what I shall do.” Then the figure 
said, “ Why dost thou ask of me, if 
the Lord is thine enemy. He has 
departed from thee, and given the 
kingdom to David, because thou 





SAUL SLAIN IN BATTLE, i Samuel xxxi 



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THE DEATH OF SAUL. 


171 


obeyedst not His voice. The Phil¬ 
istines will fight against Israel; and 
Israel will be conquered; and to¬ 
morrow thou and thy sons shall be 
with me.” 

What did Saul do ? He fell down 
on the ground in fear and horror. 
He was very miserable; he had now 
no hope; to-morrow he must die; 
his body must fall in the battle¬ 
field ; and where must his soul go ? 
Could it go to Heaven? No; he 
was not ready for Heaven. Satan 
was in his heart, not God’s Holy 
Spirit. 

The woman understood now who 
Saul was; and she and his servants 


tried to comfort him. She spoke 
kindly to him; and made ready 
some meat, and bread for him to eat. 
But could all this do Saul any good 
now? No; he was going to die, 
and God alone can comfort people 
in death. But Saul could not go 
to God for comfort. It was too 
late; he had forsaken God, and God 
had cast him off for ever. 

Saul arose from the ground, and 
ate what the woman made ready, 
and then he and his servants went 
away. It was night; Saul’s last 
night; to-morrow he must be in 
another world. 


CXXII. 


Jh E ^EATH 

ATJL could not sleep that 
sad night; and the next 
morning he went to the 
battle where he was to 
die. The battle was in 
Mount Gilboa. The Philistines 
conquered, and nuny of the Israel¬ 
ites fell down dead on the field; for 
God was not fighting for His people 
now. 

The Philistines followed after 
Saul, and shot him with their 
arrows, and sorely wounded him. 
Then he knew that his enemies 
would soon come and kill him ; and 
he was very much afraid, and called 
his armor-bearer, and asked him to 
kill him, that he might not be put 
to death by the cruel Philistines. 
But the armor-bearer was afraid to 
kill Saul; he would not murder his 
king; so Saul took a sword, and 
fell upon it,and died. He murdered 


OP jbAUL. 

himself. He died in his sin; and 
there was, therefore, no hope that 
his soul could be saved; self-mur¬ 
derers have no time to ask for pardon. 

When the armor-bearer looked at 
Saul, and saw that he was dead, he 
took a sword, and fell upon it, and 
died too. And the Israelites saw 
that Saul and his sons were dead; 
and they all ran from their cities, 
and left their houses; and the Philis¬ 
tines came and lived in them. 

Where was Jonathan ? The next 
day, when the Philistines came to 
look at the field of battle, they found 
Jonathan, and his brothers, and 
Saul, all lying dead upon the ground. 
Jonathan was ready to die. He had 
begun to love God when young, and 
well, and happy; and God did not 
forget Jonathan when he was in 
trouble, and danger, and death. 
Jonathan’s sins had been all washed 









172 


THE DEATH OF SAUL. 


away, and his heart had been made 
new and clean; and now he was in 
Heaven, to be happy for ever, where 
there is no pain, nor sorrow, nor sin. 

The cruel Philistines cut off Saul’s 
head, and took away his armor, and 
sent home the news of their victory, 
and shouted for joy. They nailed 
Saul’s body to a wall; but the 
people who lived in Jabesh-gilead 
were kind to their king, and hon¬ 
ored him; and took his body, and 
his sons’ bodies, and buried them 
all under a tree, and mourned for 
them many days. 

Where was David now? He was 
still in Ziklag; waiting quietly 
there, and very thankful for God’s 
kindness to him. After the battle, 
a messenger came to David from 
Saul’s camp. His clothes were rent, 
and dust was upon his head; and 
David knew that he had sad news to 
tell. Then David asked, who had 
gained the battle, and what had 
happened to Saul and Jonathan. 
The messenger said, “ The people 
are fled from the battle, and many 
are fallen and dead, and Saul and 
Jonathan are dead also.” Then 
David asked how all this happened, 
and the messenger told him that he 
had seen Saul on Mount Gilboa in 


great distress, pursued by the Phil¬ 
istines, and that Saul had asked him 
to slay him. “ So,” the man said, 
“ I stood on him, and slew him, and 
took his crown, and his bracelet; 
and I have brought them here to 
thee.” Was this a true story ? No* 
some of it was false. This man did 
not kill Saul; Saul killed himself. 
Why did the man tell this lie ? Be¬ 
cause he thought David would be 
glad to hear that his enemy Saul 
was dead; and perhaps would give 
him a reward. And was David 
pleased? No; he wept for Saul, 
and for his dear friend Jonathan; 
and he was angry with the man 
who told him of their death. David 
thought the story was all true; so 
he commanded his servants to slay 
the man as a murderer. The man 
was an Amalekite; one of that 
wicked nation which God had com¬ 
manded to be destroyed. God pun¬ 
ished him for his wicked lie, when 
David thought he was punishing 
him for murdering the king. 

David mourned very much for 
Jonathan, and wrote a beautiful 
song of lamentation for him, for he 
could not forget Jonathan’s love and 
kindness. 



























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